Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday launched Arunachal Cable Communication, which will provide HD digital cable TV connection.
Khandu also launched a new English daily, The Arunachal Herald.
Lauding the launch of the daily, the Chief Minister said that Arunachal Pradesh and its problems get less attention at the national level due to ‘marginal presence of media’ in the State.
“The incidents in Arunachal often go unreported due to hostile and inaccessible terrain,” said Khandu adding that the State Information and Public Relations Department has formulated policies to encourage the growth of media houses in the State.
The Chief Minister also announced that Rs 3.5 crore have been allotted in the Budget for infrastructural facilities at the Arunachal Press Club in Itanagar.
He also said that the corpus fund for the welfare of the journalists has been raised from Rs one crore to Rs two crore.
The Chief Minister also informed about the recent Cabinet decision to have an own advertisement policy for the State.
For completion of Soochna Bhawan, Rs 4 crore is earmarked.
Khandu also informed on plans to develop about 100 smart villages in Arunachal.
He informed that in his recent visit to US, he met Solomon Darwin, American professor at the University of California, Berkeley who is known for his development of ‘smart village’ frameworks for Indian villages. With support from the University and collaboration from state government, in phase manner smart villages will be developed across the state. He said it requires no heavy investment and will hugely benefit the local youths through skill development and job opportunities.