New Delhi: The Government has no intention of interfering in the functioning of Prasar Bharati and would create an enabling environment for better working of the public broadcaster, Information and Broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu said.
According to official sources, Mr Naidu said this in a meeting where he took a detailed presentation on the issues and challenges being faced by the Prasar Bharati.
“The Minister said the Government has the highest regard for the Board of Prasar Bharti and has no intention of interfering in the functioning of the Corporation and on the contrary would only like to create an enabling environment for better functioning of Prasar Bharati,” an official said.
Mr Naidu assured Prasar Bharati that its efforts to overcome various bottlenecks would be adequately supported by the I&B Ministry.
The I&B minister also expressed concern that many cable operators have not been carrying the mandatory Doordarshan channels on their networks and suggested setting up of suitable monitoring mechanisms.
Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash, CEO Jawhar Sircar and members of the board that runs the public broadcaster also attended the 90 minute long presentation.
It is learnt that after Sircar made the presentation, Mr Naidu urged officials of the I&B Ministry and Prasar Bharati to resolve various issues like shortage of manpower and resources at the earliest as per the provisions of the Prasar Bharati Act.
Mr Naidu also stressed on the need to improve the content and quality of production so as to increase the viewership.
Sources said that Mr Naidu in the meeting also mentioned that some unwanted speculative reports had appeared in the media about Prasar Bharati. He emphasised that due processes would be followed.
PTI