Prasar Bharati gets the extra bucks due to Commonwealth Games

  The grant-in-aid to Prasar Bharati is a substantial Rs 16.36 billion for 2009-10, perhaps in view of the expenses to be incurred for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

The Union budget presented  shows an increase over the revised estimates for 2008-09 that is Rs 12.70 billion, as against the budgetary allocation of Rs 11.42 billion for that year.

Even the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s investment in Prasar Bharati has been increased to Rs 3.56 billion in 2009-10 from the actual investment of Rs 2.62 billion in the budget for 2008-09. This is higher than the investment that had been proposed in the budget presented last year, which was Rs 3.26 billion. Interestingly, the interim budget presented on 16 February had shown a reduction in the investment in Prasar Bharati to Rs 2.56 billion in 2009-10

While the grant-in-aid is to cover the gap in resources for meeting revenue expenditure, the investment is to finance the capital expenditure of the public broadcaster.

Meanwhile, last year’s budget had also proposed a loan of Rs 3.26 billion for Prasar Bharati towards setting up an ‘International Broadcasting Centre’ and other facilities as a host broadcaster for the Commonwealth Games 2010 which was in addition to the grant-in-aid for 2008-09.

The absence of mention of this loan in the budget documents only meant that there was no fresh loan but the commitment of last year would be honoured.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said while presenting the interim budget in February that the allocations were for the entire financial year beginning from 1 April this year, but funds had been sought only for the first four months of the financial year.

The total allocation for the I&B Ministry this year is Rs 25.68 billion which is substantially higher than the budgetary allocation for 2008-09 which was Rs 19.10 billion and also higher than the revised estimates of Rs 20.25 billion