Want to sell a foreign limousine to a rich Indian farmer and a foreign perfume to Mrs Rich Indian Farmer? No problem. The government's ambitious Kisan channel will soon be here.
Meant to be for the farmer, by the farmer, of the farmer, the channel will have only one stipulation: that all content -- advertising or otherwise -- is designed so that it identifies with the traditional Indian farmer.
The Kisan channel is to be launched by the end of next month. It will be managed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the agriculture ministry.
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Though the planning -- financial and logistic -- for the channel has been approved "in principle" by the government, Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh is keen to put this project on the fast track. The proposal has already reached the finance ministry.
Sources say certain conditionalities will be imposed by the ICAR on advertisers and content-providers.
The channel, which may have a footprint all over the country, will not entertain any content (not even advertising) that does not conform to Indian traditions.
"All men and women appearing on the channel will be required to wear only traditional Indian clothes. Even the headgear will be Indian," a senior government official said.
In other words, Sunil Babu in the Asian paints ad will be required to wear a dhoti kurta and Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor will have to wear demure salwar kameez suits instead of western pajama suits in the