Doordarshan logo changes to saffron from red, opposition leaders unhappy

India's government-owned broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has made an announcement regarding the change of the historic flagship logo of national broadcaster Doordarshan. The logo has now been changed to saffron from red.

The announcement came through DD News' official X account. The post read, "While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar."

"Get ready for a news journey like never before.. Experience the all-new DD News!."

However, the opposition doesn't seem to be very happy about the change. 

The change in the logo's colour was criticised by a member of the Rajya Sabha and ex-CEO of Prasar Bharati (DD, AIR), Jawhar Sircar, who said he has been watching the national broadcaster's "saffronisation".

Congress leader Manish Tewari, who served as Information and Broadcasting Minister from 2012 to 2014, claimed that the logo colour change was an effort by the government to seize control of government entities.

However, Gaurav Dwivedi, the CEO of Prasar Bharati, dismissed all these comments. 

“The colour is orange. Six to seven months ago, we revamped the DD India [English news channel] logo to the same colour ahead of the G20. Thus, two news channels from the same group now follow the same visual aesthetic,” he said. 

DD National's logo, which shows general entertainment and news programs in English and Hindi, was similarly changed to saffron/orange and blue last year, he added.

“Not just the logo colour, we have redone our equipment and studios as well,” he said.

The first Doordarshan logo was finalised by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. It was broadcast with the theme music composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan on April 1, 1976, with an orange logo against a green background.