On 6 September 1990, the Indian Parliament passed the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act. This Act provided for the establishment of a broadcasting corporation of India called Prasar Bharati. The act, however, came into effect only on 15 September 1997. Read on for more on Prasar Bharati for the IAS exam.
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Prasar Bharati Background
- Prior to the act, Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR/Akashvani) were under the central government’s control under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The purpose behind the act was to give the broadcaster more autonomy and freedom like in many other countries.
- The Act brought both DD and AIR under the ambit of the corporation Prasar Bharati.
Functions of Prasar Bharati
Prasar Bharati is India’s Public Service Broadcaster.
- To maintain the country’s unity and integrity as enshrined in the Constitution of India.
- To ensure that citizens’ right to be informed of national and international events and news are fulfilled.
- To spread literacy, agricultural development, and to promote health and the environment.
- To cover sporting activities to promulgate sportsmanship spirit among the citizens.
- To cover and propagate the diversity in the country.
- To serve the rural and weaker sections of society including children, disabled, etc.
- To conduct research and development so that television and radio broadcasts are regularly updated.
Board Members
- 1 Chairman
- 1 executive member
- 1 member for finance
- 1 member for personnel
- 6 part-time members
- Director-General (Akashvani), ex-officio
- Director-General (Doordarshan), ex-officio
- 1 representative of the Information and Broadcasting ministry (nominated by the ministry)
- 2 representatives of the employees of the corporation (1 elected by the engineering staff and 1 elected by the other staff, from amongst themselves)
The Chairman and other members except for the ex-officio members, the elected and the nominated members are appointed by the President.
Current Chairman of Prasar Bharati: Dr A Surya Prakash
Current CEO of Prasar Bharati: Mayank Kumar Agrawal
Also on this day
1889: Sarat Chandra Bose, freedom fighter, barrister and elder brother of Subhash Chandra Bose was born in Howrah, West Bengal. 1965: India crossed the international border with Pakistan (the Radcliffe Line) making an official beginning of the Indo-Pak war. Pakistani soldiers dressed as local Kashmiris had earlier crossed the LOC in August 1965. 1968: Swaziland gets independence from the United Kingdom. 1972: ‘Munich Massacre’ in which 9 Israeli athletes were taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games and killed by a Palestinian terrorist group during the rescue attempt.
See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.
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