Nirmala Sitharaman (Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint via Getty Images)After discovering that areas along the Sino-India border in Arunachal Pradesh and other states receive Chinese broadcasts but not Indian ones, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Centre will expedite laying fibre optic cables (OFC) in the region along with improving the broadcast reach of All India Radio (AIR), reports The Hindu.
Sitharaman said that OFC connectivity would help both the military and civilians get better communication services and counter Chinese broadcasts in the region.
I came to know people in the area access Chinese radio frequency but not All India Radio.Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
The Union Cabinet has sanctioned the funds to extend the existing OFC network under the National Fibre Optic Network (NOFN) to border areas.
Sitharaman also said that the centre is looking at recruiting more women from the border areas in to the armed forces. She added that she was considering permanent commissioning for them but the matter was caught in legal hurdles.
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