As per the answer given by the  Minister of I& B   to the question number 103 answerd on  29.11.2011 in loksabha,Prasar Bharati has been facing various financial and administrative issues since its inception which has been hampering its smooth functioning. Government had constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into various issues pertaining to the functioning of PB. The GoM considered various issues and made recommendations for improving governance and financial management of PB. The GoM recommendations, inter-alia, include the following:-

# To make amendments to section 11 of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, to settle issues regarding various categories of employees serving in PB.

# 3452 essential category posts in PB should be filled up to address manpower shortage.

# Government should extend financial assistance to PB from Non Plan funds to meet 100% expenses towards salary and salary related expenses and augmentation/replacement of capital assets during the next five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16. All other items of operating expenses shall be borne by PB from out of its internal resources.

# Accumulated arrears of space segment and spectrum charges of PB up to 31.3.2011 should be waived

# Restoration of section 22 of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act,1990 in its original form to exempt PB from paying Income Tax. Loans provided by the Government to PB should be converted into grants-in-aid

# Interests accrued on the loans provided to PB to be waived.

# Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990, should be amended comprehensively to improve its functioning.

As recommended by GoM, the amendments to section 11 of the PB Act have been approved by the cabinet and the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010 has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 31.8.2010. In respect of other important recommendations of GoM, a proposal seeking approval of Cabinet is under inter Ministerial consultation.

             The minister further added that "The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill 2010 is pending consideration in Rajya Sabha. Section 11 of the Act once amended, will provide clarity to the status of employees. It inter alia provides that those employees who were regularly recruited during the period on or after 23.11.1997 till 5.10.2007 will be Government employees on deemed deputation, whereas employees recruited after 5.10.2007 would be Prasar Bharati employees. In order to provide further clarity to the status of employees recruited during 23.11.1997 to 5.10.2007, an official Amendment is being introduced in the current Session of Parliament, making a provision to the effect that these employees will be Government employees until their retirement. "

As per the minister ,several steps are being taken to improve governance and financial management of PB. Some important steps in this direction are as below;

# PB has finalized Recruitment Regulations for different categories of posts which are under the consideration of the Government. A proposal for constitution of Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board (PBRB) is under inter Ministerial consultation. These will enable PB to address issues of staff crunch.

# The Ministry has accorded high priority for the digitalization of Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) for which adequate funds have been provided to PB in the Plan allocation. Plan fund support is also being provided to PB for improving software on various DD/ AIR channels.

# Marketing setup of PB is being revamped and re-structured so as to make it more efficient, proactive and market friendly.

# PB also plans to expand its Direct-to- Home (DTH) platform from existing 59 channels which will provide better access and facility to people in rural areas.

# E-auctioning of slots on DTH to private channels has resulted in increase in the internal revenue generation of PB. Till date PB has generated Rs.73.61 crores from auction of 29 slots on the DTH DD Platform

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