Like its counterparts in UK and Australia, why doesn't India boast of a channel targeted at kids? That was the theme of a panel discussion at Ficci Frames 2013.

Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, who was expected to take part in the panel discussion, was conspicuous by his absence. The session that was supposed to discuss and deliberate upon the importance of a public kids' broadcaster went without government representation.

The panelists comprised CFSI chairman Amol Gupte, Graphiti Multimedia chairman Ram Mohan, and International Advertising Association-India Chapter (IAA-IC) Secretary at Monica Tata. Graphiti Multimedia COO Munjal Shroff was moderator of the session.

Tata, who was earlier with Turner International and was managing kids channels Cartoon Network and Pogo, said it was imperative for the government to enter the kids broadcasting space as part of its larger social responsibility.
According to Tata, Doordarshan, the television arm of Prasar Bharati, with its huge reach through terestrial cable will go a long way in reaching kids who don't have access to quality content.

Graphiti Multimedia chairman Ram Mohan, also known as father of Indian animation, felt a public-private partnership would go a long way in making this initiative a success.

He also felt that a public-owned kids broadcaster would also give a fillip to Indian animation industry besides serving the larger social good - that of helping kids to develop life skills.

The panelists agreed that the first step was to convince the government to launch such a channel. The content of the channel can be decided later.

Tata believes that the channel should have content that is educating but also entertaining at the same time.

CFSI chairman Amol Gupte feels that the time has come for the government to put its foot down and get working on the channel.

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