Prasar Bharati FY'11 rev up 19% to Rs 13.88 bn

NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has posted a 19.14 per cent jump in revenue to Rs 13.88 billion for the financial year ended March 2011, according to the pubcaster?s sources.

The accounts have not been finally audited for the fiscal in view of various factors including the Commonwealth Games broadcast rights issue.

"The figures reported by the Directorates of All India Radio and Doordarshan add up to a revenue of Rs 13.88 for the fiscal ended March 2011. The final audit has not been done due to various factors including the CWG broadcast rights issue," the sources add.

In FY?10, Prasar Bharati had reported revenue of Rs 11.65 billion.

The operational cost of Doordarshan, however, has climbed to Rs 14.69 billion in 2010-11, compared with Rs 14.21 billion in the year-ago period.

The operational cost includes non-plan expenditure, revenue expenditure, and capital plan expenditure. The rise has been mainly due to increase in salary, dearness allowance and grant of benefit of Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme to the employees.

Earlier this year, the Group of Ministers recommended that the Government should meet 100 per cent of the expenses on salaries and allowances of the employees and augmentation/replacement of capital assets.

The remaining items of operating expenditure are to be borne by Prasar Bharati from its revenue earnings.

A total of 8018 personnel would be required for the operation and maintenance of newly sanctioned projects of All India Radio (2183) and Doordarshan (5835), according to sources. This is in addition to 3452 posts lying vacant and considered by Prasar Bharati as priority.

The Group of Ministers has approved a scheme worked out with the Finance Ministry for this purpose.

Earlier this year, the Prasar Bharati Board considered the long-pending Recruitment Rules for 196 cadres of employees in Prasar Bharati for forwarding to Government. Non-existence of these rules ever since Prasar Bharati came into being in 1997 was a major reason for the huge backlog in filling up the vacancies and making vital appointments, something which has come under heavy criticism in Parliamentary Committees.