Dr.Banarsi Lal, Dr.Shahid Ahamad
Communication maintains and animates the life. It leads people from instinct to inspiration through process and system of enquiry, command and control. It creates a common pool of ideas, strengthens the feeling of togetherness through the exchange of messages and translates into action. As the world has advanced, the task of communication has become more complex. However, unless some basic structural changes are introduced, the potential benefits of technological and communication development will hardly be put at disposal of the majority of mankind.
Present Indian extension system is under numerous pressures where the extension workers have to cater not only to vast population but also to perform administrative, election, input supply and other works. Under these circumstances, it is not practically possible to serve all the farmers, all the time for all the problems when ratio of extension worker and farmer, the sender and receiver is more than 1:1000. Therefore, the potential of mass media can be exploited to serve the rural population in this direction. Electronisation and mechanisation in communication systems have provided opportunity to access the information rapidly, accurately and repeatedly. To reach the unreach modern electronic gadgets and systems have been introduced to cope-up the requirements. The government of India has realised the need and utility of these electronic equipments for rural population. Therefore, massive programmes of cyber extension, digital interactive distance learning, online networks, computers aided multimedia, internet and free online telephones etc. have been launched for the farmers. Some of the major extension technology systems and approaches are being used presently like call centre (1800-180-1551), Cyber Extension, ATIC, computer-internet connectivity etc.
The present age has been rightly termed as an ‘information age’. Information plays an immense value in our society. Information has become an integral part of our daily life. Now people want adequate and authentic information as early as possible. As a matter of fact, no executive can be successful without communicating effectively with his superiors or subordinates. Messages could be in the form of words, symbols, signs, letters or actions. The importance of communication has been greatly emphasised by all the management experts. Communication is like a part of an individual’s life as well as organisational existence. Its importance is self-explanatory and is having common experience of all as well.
Although TV is a new medium, it is developing very rapidly. With the development and acceptance of colour in television one can expect a greater reality in this medium for future. The boom in television industries has not only affected urban masses but the rural masses are also fascinated with this media. Now this has become one of the most important media of mass communication for rural masses.
Television can bring the world to our door steps within a second. This mass medium has made dissemination of news, information and entertainment possible on a scale unprecedented in human society. It is undoubtedly one of the most versatile audio-visual aids ever developed. Admittedly, this is still a new field. There is a much to be done before television achieves its full usefulness in teaching. The transfer of science to rural people in India and gradual inoculation of scientific attitude in their everyday life, need to demonstrate in the language which will be understood and appreciated by the rural people. Television as an audio-visual medium of communication offers immense potential for dissemination of technological information to remote corners of the country through the nationwide TV network. Television is also considered very strong medium in the first stage of awareness. Apart from that, it speeds up entire process of adoption. It is considered as a credible source of information and is taken as authentic, trustworthy and prestigious medium of communication.
Use of television as a powerful communication medium has no doubt to captivate the agriculture educators to harness its potential for reaching far across the nation. While it provides words with pictures and sound effects like movies, TV has the capacity to reach the largest number of people in the shortest possible time. People learn through the eyes and ears both thus, gain greater knowledge and understanding of the subject.
The boom in television industries has not only affected urban masses but the rural masses are also fascinated with this media. Now this has become one of the most important media of mass communication for rural masses. It has played a major role in transferring latest technological know-how to the rural people. In India where the rural masses are isolated in villages the communication is difficult and challenging. In this situation television is one of the important sources of mass media which plays a pivotal role in reaching large number of people in no time.
The television in India began on 15th September, by a UNESCO grant to study the use of TV as a medium of education, rural upliftment and community development. In 1959 an experimental television programme was started to train personnel and particularly to discover what television would achieve in community development and formal education. Philips (India) demonstrated its use at an exhibition in New Delhi. The range of the transmitter was 40 kilometers and the audience comprised members of 180 tele-clubs which were provided free sets by UNESCO. The year 1961 witnessed educational television programmes on science for teachers. In the year 1965 entertainment programmes were introduced under pressure from manufacturers and the public. In the year 1967, Indian TV went into rural programmes and Krishi Darshan programme for farmers in 80 villages tele-clubs in Delhi and Haryana were started. The year 1975-76 beamed educational programmes to villages through SITE. Commercial telecast for the first time was introduced in 1976. In 1977 terrestrial transmitters were put up at selected centres to extend television coverage. On 15th August, 1982, the national programme was inaugurated. In 1983 INSAT-IA India’s first communication satellite was placed in geostationary orbit but failed in its operation. In 1983 INSAT-IB was successfully launched in orbit by the American Shuttle Challenger.