Prasar Bharati to stay autonomous

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government will retain the autonomy of India’s public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar indicated on Monday.

He pointed out that Prasar Bharati was established through an Act of Parliament, which safeguards its autonomy. “The autonomy of the Prasar Bharati is important. We will retain it. We want Prasar Bharati to work smoothly and bring new programmes and find new dimensions,” he said launching state-of-the-art high-definition DSNG vans at Doordarshan Bhawan here.

The minister lauded public broadcasters Door-darshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) for their credible programmes and coverage and asked officials to promote channels like DD Bharati.  He said the new vans would help DD in the collection of high-quality visuals from outdoor spots.

DD News has acquired 17 high-definition DSNG vans, which are capable of transmitting signals in HD and multi-camera production.  Prasar Bharati chairman Suryaprakash said the public broadcaster is moving ahead in the direction of the “Sabka Vishwas” policy propounded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Information and broadcasting secretary Amit Khare said a three-year plan has been approved by the government to develop the infrastructure of Prasar Bharati at an expenditure of '1,054 crore.

“There are many channels in the country which claim to be the fastest but DD and AIR command the highest credibility,” he said.  The DD and AIR  have the highest numbers of viewers and listeners in the country, he added.

The Parliament of India passed the Prasar Bharati Act to grant the public broadcasting agency autonomy in 1990, but it was not enacted until 15 September 1997. AIR and Doordarshan were previously under government control.