The Prasar Bharati Corporation, set up in 1997 by an Act of Parliament with a mandate for public broadcasting services through Doordarshan and All India Radio, to inform, educate and entertain, is today neither fish nor fowl. It is a public service broadcaster only in name; in practice it continues to be the government’s handmaiden. For most of its existence it has faced questions over its relevance in the digital age. There are in the country today over 830 channels accessed by 150 million households that have TV sets. This is a far cry from the time Doordarshan was king and sole purveyor. The virtual government control on the media once ensured that AIR and DD were able to attract the best programmes and producers. The mid-1990s changed all that, and the entertainment channels were followed by private news channels. The Corporation dreamed of being a BBC-lookalike. But that was a tall order. Globally there are over 30 public service broadcasters and the most popular of them is the BBC, to which generations of Indians have been exposed, beginning with radio and later TV. Its level of autonomy and independence has inspired many broadcasters to emulate the model, and Prasar Bharati was no exception. But here is the catch. The BBC, with its much-admired programming, is supported by revenue from licence fee that every TV-owner in the United Kingdom pays. And over 70 per cent of the income is spent on the BBC’s programming.
In sharp contrast, Prasar Bharati runs totally on government funding. Only 15 per cent of the budget is spent on content; the rest goes to pay salaries to its over 31,621 employees. The Sam Pitroda Committee, as other committees before it, wanted the Corporation to become financially independent and to be allowed to monetise its under-utilised assets such as real estate, archival material and the scores of transmitters that have in any case outlived their purpose. All this is easier said than done: the Corporation does not have the authority to give the nod even to open an ATM on its premises. The prospect of autonomy also is seriously in doubt when you look at what it now does with news. Successive governments have taken to managing news content with the next elections in mind or to project governmental achievements. In the latest instance, the BJP government has issued a diktat requiring the news channel to set aside prime time for Ministers to showcase their achievements. In a context where cable TV has penetrated over 92 per cent of the households, unless Prasar Bharati wakes up to the challenge of offering the right kind of programming and technology, the threat to its existence will continue to loom large.
