The government has said that 68 transmitters have been sanctioned under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme, which will expand AIR coverage from 70 per cent in 2021 to 81 per cent. The scheme is a Central Sector Scheme for the development, modernization and upgradation of broadcasting infrastructure of Doordarshan and Akashvani in the country. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha today, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan said that the BIND scheme has been approved with a total outlay of over two thousand 539 crore rupees for 2021-26. He informed that Akashvani has started digital terrestrial broadcasting on the medium wave Band in three metro cities – Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. The Minister stated that as a part of its ongoing digital transformation, Akashvani has also made its 260 channels available live on the mobile app News On Air, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world.