NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has commenced from today the telecast of ?Manthan?, a weekly series on science and technology in Hindi, being produced by Deutsche Welle.

This is the first series in Hindi by the German television channel and is being telecast at 10.30 am every Saturday with a repeat at midnight on the national channel, DD One. The show will focus on science, technology, the environment and medicine.

The series is the result of a comprehensive partnership agreement signed in late 2011 between DD Director General Tripurari Sharan and DW Director General Erik Bettermann to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field of television.

?Manthan? is produced by DW?s Hindi team in Bonn and will cover all aspects of science and technology ? with a special focus on the latest developments in Germany and Europe. The show anchor is Isha Bhatia from Chandigarh. In addition to presenting the latest scientific developments, the ?Manthan? team will also report on the different aspects of everyday life in Germany and comment on the sometimes surprising differences between Germany and India.

The programme will initially be for 26 episodes but may be extended if it is found to gain acceptance.

Addressing a press meet, German Ambassador Michael Steiner expressed the hope that this programme will encourage people-to-people understanding, regretting that there was no Indian journalist based in his country.

But he said Germany and India were ?a perfect match? and his country was India?s greatest trading partner in Europe.

Sharan expressed confidence that this was the start of a fruitful relationship and felt Indians needed to go beyond their conceptions of Germany which stood for much more than just the famous automobile brands that Indians were proud to own.

The series would provide value-based education and will go beyond the stereotypical information Indian students get in schools and colleges.

?Manthan? editor-in-chief Ute Schaeffer said media should encourage such exchange of programmes.

DW programming head Asia Pacific Alexander Freund said German radio receives thousands of letters from Indian listeners but this was the first collaboration in TV. He said the liberalisation of the economy in India had made an impact on Germany. He said the website manthan.dw.de will help interactivity.

DW distribution head Anne Hufnagel claimed DW already reaches six million homes in India.

Show anchor Isha Bhatia said the show will also cover subjects outside Germany.

Doordarshan deputy director general Deepa Chandra also addressed the press meet.

Multimedia content from the series will also be available online at DW?s Hindi website, www.dw.de/hindi, as well as being distributed by DW?s online partners.