Direct-to-home (DTH) television broadcasts from Indian satellites will soon alert state agencies and the public about imminent natural calamities.

G Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said that in the next six months India’s national channel Doordarshan will relay warning signals from Insat transponders in the Ku-band on imminent calamities through a DTH receiver connected to the national disaster management support system in New Delhi.

Such alerts will help state agencies and the public to be prepared for any natural disaster and reduce damage to life and property. Instead of using expensive and heavy devices comprising an antenna, power supply system and a TV booster, a lighter DTH receiver that can be hooked to a TV set will be used. People can receive the warning via voice or signals while watching any channel.

State-run Bharat Electronics will produce nearly 1,000 DTH receiver sets costing less than Rs10,000 for the state agencies and other stakeholders. State governments can install the receivers in disaster-prone or coastal areas to alert people about impending natural disasters such as cyclones, heavy rains, high-speed winds and tsunamis.

The project will be launched on a pilot basis by the end of this year using Doordarshan's DTH platform. Private DTH operators such as Tata Sky, Dish TV and Sun TV will also be involved later on, as they also employ ISRO's Ku-band transponders. X

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