Former Union information and broadcasting secretary Sunil Arora is likely to replace Jawhar Sircar as the CEO of the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. Mr Arora , a Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, is considered close to the ruling dispensation and has been chosen for the task after his successful stint at the I&B ministry.
Sources stated that by appointing Mr Arora at the helm of affairs at the public broadcaster the Modi government is trying to give a new direction to Doordarshan and All-India Radio. Mr Arora is expected to take charge once Jawhar Sircar’s term ends in February next year.
It is understood that the change was necessitated as under the present CEO the government attempts at making “desirebale changes” to the two national broadcaster’s in terms of policies, content and personnel were getting frustrated.
The former I&B secretary, Mr Arora, was appointed as an advisor in public broadcaster Prasar Bharati earlier this month and is understood to have taken charge as officer on special duty. Mr Arora’s taking charge as the OSD is being seen as an indication of the choice of Government as the new CEO and under his guidance the NDA government’s agenda is expected to be implemented.
The new CEO is expected to have a gigantic task to rebuild the public broadcaster and restore its lost credibility amongst the masses. Under Mr Sircar, the Board has been emroiled in many controversies and an unsuccessful attempt at changing the face of the national broadcaster by introducing policies like slot sale for content generation. Under Mr Sircar, the Doordarshan has also come under a cloud for delayed payments to producers of its commissioned programmes.
