Prasar Bharati is finally set to get a permanent Chief Executive Officer, with a search panel recommending that Jawhar Sircar — Secretary to the Culture Ministry, but set to retire next month — be given the job.
The top spot has been empty for over a year, ever since B.S. Lalli was suspended due to a CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities. Since then, Information and Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary Rajiv Takru has been acting as CEO.
Mr. Sircar, a 1975 batch officer from the West Bengal cadre, who has previously held additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, was selected by a three-member panel headed by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, and including Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju and I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma.
While Prasar Bharati sources say Mr. Sircar is likely to take charge next week, it is still unclear whether he will wait until his scheduled retirement from the IAS on March 31.
