Make Prasar Bharati accountable to Parliament

By ET Bureau | 6 May, 2014, 04.04AM IST 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/make-prasar-bharati-accountable-to-parliament/articleshow/34706390.cms

Source: economictimes.indiatimes

Much of the debate on Doordarshan autonomy goes on as if it is a crime for the government to have a broadcast outlet that faithfully reflects its views. This kind of thinking in this country where hundreds of private news channels strive for viewer attention and act as more than a check on misuse of the public broadcaster by the government stems from a narrow view of the world. Now, everyone respects the BBC. Does this mean that when BBC reports on west Asia, Afghanistan or the Falklands, Britain's venerable public broadcaster would reflect any worldview apart from the British government's? There is a strong case for India to have a BBC-equivalent of its own.

 

But this does not mean that the public broadcaster should be a channel that acts as the partisan mouthpiece of the ruling party. Certainly not. But it does mean that the broadcaster would articulate the spirit and values of the Constitution and stay away from the shrill path of competitive sensationalism that private news channels uphold, with dedicated conviction, as their defining virtue. The public broadcaster should shun sensation, show intelligence and understanding and perform due diligenc .. 

The best way to achieve this ideal in practice is to appoint a professional board to supervise its functioning and make the board accountable to Parliament via a standing committee. The Sam Pitroda-headed expert committee to revamp Prasar Bharati, which controls Doordarshan and All India Radio, has recommended precisely this. The next government should act on this recommendation. Even today, it would be wrong to think that Doordarshan functions as a partisan arm of the government. But its autonomy should be not just real but also apparent. For that, it is important to make it accountable to a committee of Parliament that has ruling and Opposition members on it. It would also make sense to fund the organisation properly, so as to empower it to hire bright talent and pursue quality programming, even if it is not immediately commercially viable.