Daily Current Affairs and GK | 20 December 2025

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. The Ministry of Jal Shakti organised the second edition of Sujal Gram Samvad.

• The event was held on 19 December in New Delhi.
• Sujal Gram Samvad is a platform for direct interaction between the Centre and rural communities.
• It is a multilingual platform that allows dialogue in multiple languages.
• Sujal Gram Samvad is a first-of-its-kind initiative.
• It is designed to reduce the gap between policymakers and grassroots.
• This edition is focused on eight specific states. These states are Assam, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation is supporting the event.
• It has identified officials and consultants for the programme.
• These officials are skilled in the local dialects of the participating villages.
• Their role is to ensure smooth and effective communication during discussions.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

2. The government is carrying out comprehensive modernisation of Doordarshan and Akashvani, with an aim to improve content quality, technology and audience reach.

• The modernisation is being done under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) Scheme (2021 to 2026), with a total financial outlay of about ₹2,539.61 crore.
• The scheme is focused on digitisation, replacement of legacy systems, and studio and transmitter upgrades.
• It also focuses on expansion of coverage and adoption of new broadcasting technologies.
• The Simplified Content Sourcing Policy was introduced by the government in 2024, and this policy allows wider participation in programme creation and faster acquisition of programmes.
• Government has revised artists and casual assignee rates to attract talent across 66 programme production centres of the network.
• From 2022 to 2025, Akashvani and Doordarshan earned about ₹587.78 crore from non-government advertisements. This reflects attempts to diversify revenue.