The Kheda Communications Project (KCP), a field laboratory in development and local communication was conducted between 1975 and 1990 in Kheda district in Gujarat. It is a milestone in the history of television in India. DECU managed this project and produced the development and educational programmes involving the local audience. This project was the testbed for production of research based participatory development programmes received universal recognition and acceptance.

    DECU is involved in the conception, definition, planning, implementation and socio-economic evaluation of space applications.

    The Jhabua Development Communications Project (JDCP) is an effort towards the definition of a satellite based communication system dedicated to meet the requirements of the rural areas. It is a project in partnership. While DECU is the lead implementing agency, and all technical support to it is provided by Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad. An endeavour of this nature, requires not only active participation of the people of Jhabua, but also an institutional arrangement involving a large number of State Government departments, Central Government Ministries, NGOs and the entire district and State Government administration. They all work together for the ultimate beneficiaries of the project i.e. the people of Jhabua and through them the rest of the country.

    This is a one way video and two way audio teleconferencing channel being shared by a number of users. The channel is used for interactive distance education and training by agencies like the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), All India Management Association (AIMA), Goa University, Governments of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa for conducting programmes for students and field staff. Three major areas of application have emerged- Distance Education, Rural Development and Industrial Training. In distance education, agencies like IGNOU and AIMA which offer diploma programmes use the channel to reach out to students and resource persons. In rural development, the State governments and NGOs, have been using the channel to conduct training programmes for health, Panchayati Raj, watershed management field workers and training of rural audiences. In Industrial Training, multi-location organisations like the State bank of India have used the network to provide training to participants spread all over the country.

    The TDCC on INSAT is operational since February 1995. The user agencies have set up their own receiving network and some of them are now setting up their own teaching arrangement. More and more new users are now coming forward to use this channel for meeting their large training and educational needs. The TDCC is not meant for broadcasting but is primarily for interactive training and education.

    Social science research forms an integral part of different projects and activities of DECU. Studies are conducted on society-technology interface and utilisation of technologies like remote sensing and communications. Research projects have been undertaken on behalf of India and international agencies on a variety of topics.

    Facilities available at DECU for producing TV programmes include TV studios, high band and Betacam outdoor shooting units, post-production facilities, offline high band editing with D2 and Betacam, Paint/2D/3D modeling and graphics facilities using standard broadcast and PC-based systems, video graphics and subtitling facilities.