Live TV in your car

With election season in full swing, how would our politicians, used to creature comforts, keep up with the news from their election wagon or “rath”?

Dish TV, India’s largest Direct-To-Home satellite TV provider, has now launched a system by which any car can be retrofitted with a satellite dish that promises almost full reception (unless you’re underground). The system, which is similar to the one that Dish TV has installed on Kingfisher Airlines aircraft, is a flat disc with hundreds of rotating receivers that ensure there is a signal, wherever you are.

The device costs a bomb at over Rs 1.5 lakh plus the cost for the in-car television and sound system. The cost of installation is extra. But Dish TV claims to be working on a new and cheaper system that will work specifically in urban areas. This newer version should be out by the end of the year, but will only have a limited suite of channels.

There is good news for the Indian Railways, too, as it goes to war with the airlines. The DTH provider claims to be working to get their service on high-speed Shatabdi Express trains as well.

— Kushan Mitra