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: Even as the pubcaster gears up with programmes to mark the International Women?s Day, it has admitted that women employees account for a mere 9.8 per cent in Doordarshan and 9.3 per cent in All India Radio (AIR).

Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources have also told indiantelevision.com that there are no plans at present to reserve posts for women in Prasar Bharati.

The government had recently approved revival of 1150 posts in the pubcaster to meet urgent requirements.

Interestingly, there have been no fresh recruitments and AIR, which had 8462 vacancies in various categories three months earlier, now has 10081 vacancies. Doordarshan has 6186 vacant posts in the various categories.

The vacancies arose due to retirements, resignations, deaths etc since the establishment of Prasar Bharati on 15 September 1997, and there have been no fresh recruitments.

The Government has also granted approval for undertaking recruitment against Group B and C posts through the Staff Selection Commission as a one-time dispensation to fill critical posts expeditiously.

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.

Casual presenters were being booked by AIR stations on assignment basis for six to seven days

Earlier last year, a Parliamentary Committee had noted that AIR and Doordarshan have a 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 existing strength in the Programme Wing is just 6108 out of the total sanctioned strength of 10679, leaving the gap of 4571. Similarly, in NSD/News, there are 146 vacancies in the sanctioned strength of 379 with the present strength at 255.

The Standing Committee of Parliament on Information Technology which examines issues relating to I&B also regretted that Prasar Bharati had failed to live up to the assurance given by then Prasar Bharati CEO that the Recruitment Boards for Prasar Bharati would be set up by 31 March 2011.

The Committee had been informed that the notification with regard to setting up of Recruitment Board is under inter-Ministerial consultation. The Committee was given to understand that there are still some issues to be resolved between the Ministry/Department of Expenditure and the Department of Personnel.

Since Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body albeit supported by the Government, both UPSC and SSC have refused to select for a non-Governmental organisation.

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 last year. 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 has now been forwarded to the Law Ministry.

NEW DELHI: Community radio stations can re-transmit All India Radio?s (AIR) new bulletins.

However, the Government has once again turned down the demand for airing of local news bulletins.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said: ?Even for FM which is a far more commercial venture, we have not allowed news which they can create on their own, but we have in the proposed policy said that they could perhaps use the AIR news. I am willing to offer that to you.?

Varma said it was not possible to permit creation of local news as the Ministry did not have the mechanism to monitor the channels. He said creation of local news was a very sensitive issue. ?You will realise that in a country like India, where we have no mechanism to know what is going on, if some damage is done, we?ll not know for a long time.? On the other hand, he said, it could also be argued that people who ran Community Radio stations are responsible and could be trusted.

On the spectrum fee front, the Government has taken a decision to waive them for community radio stations, though the orders in this connection will be announced as soon as the Telecom Ministry completes the necessary formalities. The spectrum fee of Rs 19,000 had recently been increased to Rs 91,000 and posed a major burden on the CR stations.

?Our feedback is that the spectrum fee has been waived but there are certain procedures which are required. Those procedures are underway and soon - I really can?t make a commitment because it is not in my hands - but it is expected that the complete waiver of the spectrum fee will become a reality very very shortly,? said Varma.