Prasar Bharati Board gives nod to DD free dish policy

New Delhi: The Prasar Bharati Board gave its approval to finalise free dish policy for Doordarshan. The decision came at a meeting of the board of the public service broadcaster held on Monday where it was decided to finalise the policy and submit it to the Union information and broadcasting ministry for its approval.

The policy is likely to consider I&B ministry’s direction to stop all e-auction of channels on DD free dish. The proposal was deferred in its last meeting as the board had felt that the directive could “wreck the finances of Prasar Bharati”. Doordarshan’s free dish service was inaugurated in 2004 with 33 channels. It now carries 104 television channels and 40 radio channels and reaches 20 million homes.

Meanwhile, sources st-ated that the Prasar Bharati Board did not take up the issue of staff rationalisation at Door-darshan and All India Radio. The board has been contemplating taking up the contentious proposal  backed by the I&B ministry to let go off its contractual staff — casual, contractual and consultants — as the organisations were overstaffed. The proposal was earlier rejected by the board in its meeting held in February.