After nearly two years of work, the merger of the Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV has been finalised and will be replaced by a single entity Sansad TV. On March 1, retired IAS officer Ravi Capoor was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the channel.
In November 2019, after deliberations between Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, a committee headed by former Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash was set up. It submitted its report in February 2020. Three different sub-committees are currently examining the report to finalise the integration of technical and manpower resources of both channels.
The Surya Prakash committee had also held a meeting with the Members of Parliament from different political parties who strongly recommended that the live telecast should be continued.
Under the banner of Sansad TV, sources said, Lok Sabha TV will continue to telecast live proceedings of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV that of the Rajya Sabha.
“During the inter-session period and beyond the working hours of Parliament, both the variants will telecast common content to a large extent. LSTV platform would telecast programme in Hindi while RSTV platform would do so in English. The two language variants it was felt enables better branding and increased viewership,” a top official said.
The attempt is to go beyond the proceedings of the two Houses and show the functioning of the Parliament and Parliamentarians when the House is not in session.
Mr. Capoor’s mandate is also to work out the nitty-gritty of the merger, including integration of the assets and manpower. There are nearly 250 personnel working with the Rajya Sabha TV and around 100 with Lok Sabha TV. Sources said, that as part of cost cutting, there was a possibility of termination of the contract of a few employees.
