NEW DELHI: Even as Prasar Bharati is claimed to be an autonomous body, Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari today made it clear that the government cannot be expected to maintain "an arm?s length" when it foots the bills for the pubcaster.

The minister was responding to criticism by Prasar Bharati Board chairperson Mrinal Pande who spoke of ?intricate circles of bureaucratic power? surrounding the institution.

Both were speaking at the inaugural session of a meeting of a recently-constituted Expert Committee to review PB?s functioning headed by the Prime Minister?s advisor on Public Information Infrastructure Sam Pitroda.

Tewari said the key issue was whether India needed a public broadcaster, and its relationship with the government.

"Two-thirds of the I and B ministry?s budget ? Rs 18.85 billion out of Rs 28 billion ? goes to Prasar Bharati. I am the recruiting authority, the disciplinary authority, the sanctioning authority. Yet, I am supposed to have arm?s length. I am not God," he It needs to be noted here that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had in December stated that the government should further strengthen the arm?s length relationship between the public broadcaster Prasar Bharti and the central government.

While submitting its recommendations on "Issues related to entry of government or government entities into the business of broadcasting and/or distribution of TV channels" Trai had said that measures should ensure functional independence and autonomy of Prasar Bharti.

The option was to follow the ?Comptroller and Auditor General-Finance Ministry? model if the vote was in favour of having a public service broadcaster, the minister said. "If you want to take it out of the government?s ambit, PB can be directly accountable to Parliament. This will then allow me to have another full spectrum communication agency which puts the government?s viewpoint in the public space. Communication is a part of the development remit."

Tewari emphasised that for any change to be ?sustainable?, reforms had to be ?incremental and gradual? so that it could deal with the resistance within the system. But Mr Pitroda said he believed in ?disruptive approach and generational change?. "If it is not disruptive, it is not worth doing."

Earlier, Pande had rejected the proposition of remaking AIR and DD as government departments as ?rubbish?.

She asked the Expert Committee to focus on programming issues, where the problem was a ?dual control system?, with the government retaining ?final regulatory powers? on a range of issues. "Committed professionals and innovative artistes are replaced by grim men and women behind desks who tell us not how change can happen, but why it must not."

She also highlighted the ?systemic mis-alignments? in the ?hastily crafted? PB Act 2000, where the government picks the top three members of the PB executive, even though the Board is supposed to be supervising and managing the corporation?s affairs. Much to its ?embarrassment?, the Board learnt of certain PB-related issues from the next day?s newspapers, she added. She spoke of met hardware needs that were not being met.

NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Committee has refused to accept the statement of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that the persons who signed documents relating to payments to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2005 had since retired.

The Public Accounts Committee headed by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi said officers responsible for the fudiciary loss of Rs 33.9 million to the government must be made accountable.

According to an earlier report of the PAC, Prasar Bharati was to pay Rs 75 million per match for 12 one-day cricket matches to the BCCI during 2005. However, it had been made clear that this was subject to a minimum playing time of seven hours per day and Prasar Bharati would pay hour-wise for days when the match was played for less than this duration and not pay any money if a match was cancelled.
 
While five matches were held for less than half the duration, an audit report had shown that Prasar Bharati had not paid for one match not played and one played for less than half the duration at Mohali.
The PAC had at that time been angered by the remark by the then Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry attributing this loss to ?an unhappily drafted agreement.?
 
In the report laid in Parliament earlier this week on the action taken pursuant to the earlier report, the Committee said it wanted to be apprised of any recoveries from BCCI or its response, and said it was not satisfied with only interim replies and wanted final replies.

Taking umbrage at the response of the Prasar Bharati and the Government that the recommendations had been taken note of for future guidance, the PAC said it wanted details of remedial action taken and also the steps taken to recover missing or untraceable documents. It also wanted responsibility to be fixed for failure to recover the missing or untraceable files.

NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati, which has not had any senior-level recruitment since it came into being in September 1997, has finally advertised for filling 1166 posts for Programme Executives, Production Assistants and Duty officers.

The notice in Employment News says ?Prasar Bharti notifies Combined Recruitment for the Post of Programme Executive and Transmission Executive Examination? and the last date for applications is 19 April.

The posts will be filled after interviews by the Staff Selection Committee.

Interestingly, this figure is higher than the announcement of 1150 posts cleared by the government late last year.

In AIR, there are 1362 vacancies in Group A, 1,584 in Group B, 4863 in Group C and 2272 in group D.

In Doordarshan, 724 posts are vacant in Group A, 1140 in Group B, 2871 in Group C, and 1451 in Group D.

All India Radio and Doordarshan have total staff strength of 33,800 against a total sanctioned strength of 48,022, leaving a gap of 14222 posts.

The most critically affected areas are the Programme Wing and the News Services Division (AIR)/DD News.

The Committee for Information Technology late last year regretted that Prasar Bharati had failed to live up to the assurance given by then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer that the Recruitment Boards for Prasar Bharati would be set up by 31 March 2011.

It is understood that the Union Public Service Commission and SSC had both refused to select for a non-Governmental organisation, thus creating a new problem for the Ministry/Prasar Bharati.

The Proposal for setting up a Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board was approved by Prasar Bharati Board on 21 July 2010 and discussed in the Ministry and a final proposal was referred to the Department of Personnel and Training on 15 February 2011. DOP&T concurred with the proposal in June 2011 and the comments of the Department of Expenditure (DOE) were also received on 28 September 2011.

The DoE had requested that a separate proposal be formulated for creation of posts for the secretariat of Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board and also requested for drafting of agreement containing terms and conditions of the members of the Board. This had been done and the proposal sent to DoE in February 2012 and then to Law Ministry.

NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati is to get an allocation of Rs 53.97 billion for hardware schemes of Doordarshan and All India Radio in the 12th Plan, though these schemes are yet to be approved.

Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com that Rs 29.5 billion is for new schemes and Rs 24.47 billion for continuing ones.

But the Government has clarified that there are no immediate plans of expansion of Doordarshan coverage through new transmitters, except for setting up a few in border areas.

A total of Rs 2.42 billion was spent on 1415 Doordarshan transmitters (relay centres) up to October 2012 during 2012-13, DD sources told indiantelevision.com.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said a total of Rs 3.71 billion had been spent in 2011-12, Rs 3.66 billion in 2011-11, and Rs 2.86 billion in 2009-10.

These centres transmit 33 satellite channels, five All India channels, 11 regional channels, 16 state networks, one international and one HD channel.

A total of 41 low power transmitters including transmitters in tribal areas are being used only for partial transmission due to staff constraints, the sources said.

A total of six proposals had been received in 1009-10 for new Doordarshan kendras and five for new transmitters. While there has been no fresh request for new kendras, requests were received in 2010-11 for one transmitters, and three in 2011-12 from state governments.

Doordarshan at present covers 92 per cent of the population in terrestrial mode spread over 81 per cent of the area. All the areas uncovered by terrestrial mode have been provided with multi-channel TV coverage through Doordarshan?s free-to-air DD Direct Plus and free connections with TV sets have been provided in some areas like the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.