Under pressure to revise the May 29 order that breached both protocol and autonomy of the Prasar Bharati Corporation in the appointment of Veena Jain as Director-General, Doordarshan News, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has partially relented, informing the corporation of the appointment and making the official accountable to it. The modified order dated June 4 has been marked to the Chairperson of the corporation, A. Surya Prakash, but not to its Chief Executive Officer, Jawhar Sircar.
The new order is a partial win for the corporation and the Ministry, which gets to keep its official from the Indian Information Service on her dual designation as Director-General, Doordarshan News, and Officer on Special Duty to the government, ensuring she is accountable to both.
The new order says Ms. Jain shall report for all operational purposes to the Prasar Bharati and to the Ministry as OSD. The modified order follows a meeting between Mr. Prakash and Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday.
Ministry sources said appointment orders in the past were not marked to the corporation, possibly hinting at the May 29 order being the norm and not an exception, as it was made out to be. But, as sources in the corporation said, it was the first time since the notification of the Prasar Bharati Act in 1997 that the Ministry was getting used to a full-time chairperson, though under the Act the post is for a part-time chairman, who is also a former journalist who enjoys the confidence and trust of the political leadership.
