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Tag: Mrinal Pande

  • Press regulation not called for, says Modi

    Press regulation not called for, says Modi

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the recent killings of journalists in some parts of the country. He said journalists were losing their lives in the quest for telling the truth was an extremely serious development.

    Modi emphasised the importance of freedom of press, and said press should self-regulate, adding that any external interference or regulation on the press was not called for. Modi was speaking at a function organised by the Press Council of India yesterday on the occasion of National Press Day. The occasion also marks the golden jubilee of the Press Council of India.

    Speaking earlier, information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said that self-regulation in the media space was the best practice which would uphold journalistic ethics and democratic ideals of the Nation.

    The government does not believe in imposing ban on any medium of communication, but necessary restraint has to be exercised keeping in mind the protection of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the nation, and law & order situation in the country, he added.

    Naidu recalled that the electronic media coverage of Mumbai terrorist attacks had received a backlash from the Supreme Court, which said “any attempt to justify the conduct of the TV channels by citing the right to freedom of speech and expression would be totally wrong and unacceptable in such a terrorist situation.” He also mentioned the recent case of Pathankot coverage also highlighted how electronic media coverage while reporting could put civilians, armed personnel lives in danger.

    Speaking about the role of the regional media, the minister said the media assumed importance at the regional level due to its proximity with local communities and local language which enhances the participatory potential of citizens. The regional media played an important role in building participatory democracy by reaching out to all the sections of the society and also created an informed citizenry. In a federal polity, regional media with its reach could help align the interests of states with that of the nation thereby enabling the prime minister’s vision of cooperative federalism.

    Regarding the government’s new print media advertisement policy, Naidu said it promoted equity-based regional outreach by providing relaxation in empanelment procedure to provide special encouragement for regional language/dialects small and medium newspapers.

    On the opportunities offered by social media, the minister said that it was a new tool of communication which was spontaneous and interactive. Such a medium was both an opportunity and a challenge. This mode of communication should be used judiciously for larger national and individual good.

    Naidu said the media had a larger role to play in developmental agenda of the nation by proactively projecting flagship programmes of the government such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill India and Make in India as national programmes which have the potential to bring about change. The media needed to adorn the role of a stakeholder in the developmental process.

    Minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore and Press Council of India chairman Justice C. K Prasad were also present.

    Eminent journalists and photo- journalists including Surendra Nihal Singh, Mrinal Pande, Raghu Rai, Renjith John, Arvind Kumar Singh, and Xavier Selva Kumar were awarded for excellence in Journalism.

  • Press regulation not called for, says Modi

    Press regulation not called for, says Modi

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the recent killings of journalists in some parts of the country. He said journalists were losing their lives in the quest for telling the truth was an extremely serious development.

    Modi emphasised the importance of freedom of press, and said press should self-regulate, adding that any external interference or regulation on the press was not called for. Modi was speaking at a function organised by the Press Council of India yesterday on the occasion of National Press Day. The occasion also marks the golden jubilee of the Press Council of India.

    Speaking earlier, information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said that self-regulation in the media space was the best practice which would uphold journalistic ethics and democratic ideals of the Nation.

    The government does not believe in imposing ban on any medium of communication, but necessary restraint has to be exercised keeping in mind the protection of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the nation, and law & order situation in the country, he added.

    Naidu recalled that the electronic media coverage of Mumbai terrorist attacks had received a backlash from the Supreme Court, which said “any attempt to justify the conduct of the TV channels by citing the right to freedom of speech and expression would be totally wrong and unacceptable in such a terrorist situation.” He also mentioned the recent case of Pathankot coverage also highlighted how electronic media coverage while reporting could put civilians, armed personnel lives in danger.

    Speaking about the role of the regional media, the minister said the media assumed importance at the regional level due to its proximity with local communities and local language which enhances the participatory potential of citizens. The regional media played an important role in building participatory democracy by reaching out to all the sections of the society and also created an informed citizenry. In a federal polity, regional media with its reach could help align the interests of states with that of the nation thereby enabling the prime minister’s vision of cooperative federalism.

    Regarding the government’s new print media advertisement policy, Naidu said it promoted equity-based regional outreach by providing relaxation in empanelment procedure to provide special encouragement for regional language/dialects small and medium newspapers.

    On the opportunities offered by social media, the minister said that it was a new tool of communication which was spontaneous and interactive. Such a medium was both an opportunity and a challenge. This mode of communication should be used judiciously for larger national and individual good.

    Naidu said the media had a larger role to play in developmental agenda of the nation by proactively projecting flagship programmes of the government such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill India and Make in India as national programmes which have the potential to bring about change. The media needed to adorn the role of a stakeholder in the developmental process.

    Minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore and Press Council of India chairman Justice C. K Prasad were also present.

    Eminent journalists and photo- journalists including Surendra Nihal Singh, Mrinal Pande, Raghu Rai, Renjith John, Arvind Kumar Singh, and Xavier Selva Kumar were awarded for excellence in Journalism.

  • Veteran journalist A Surya Prakash is the new Prasar Bharati chairman

    Veteran journalist A Surya Prakash is the new Prasar Bharati chairman

    NEW DELHI: Senior journalist A Surya Prakash has been appointed the chairman of the Prasar Bharati Board, succeeding Mrinal Pande whose term ended around six months earlier.

     

    The appointment, which will be for three years, was made on the recommendation of a three-member committee headed by Vice President M Hamid Ansari and comprising Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju and Information and Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka.  

     

    Pande completed her tenure on 30 April this year. 

     

    The pubcaster, which was created by the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990 but notified in 1997, is governed by the Prasar Bharati Board, which comprises a chairman, an executive member (chief executive officer), a member (finance), a member (personnel), six part-time members, a representative of the I&B Ministry and the directors general of All India Radio and Doordarshan as ex-officio members.

     

    The chairman is a part time member. 

     

    Prakash has vast experience of both TV and print media. He has held key positions in several print and electronic media organisations.

     

    He was editor of Zee News; executive editor of the Pioneer; India editor of Asia Times which is a business and political daily published from Bangkok and Singapore; political editor of the Eenadu Group of Newspapers; and chief of bureau, Indian Express, New Delhi.

     

    He is also known for his well-researched interventions on national political issues. He is the founder-director of the Film and Media School at the Institute of Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi, and founder-director of the Pioneer Media School. 

     

    Prakash is currently consulting editor of the Pioneer newspaper and a distinguished fellow at Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), a think tank with which National Security advisor Ajit Doval was also associated earlier.  

  • Prasar Bharati’s woes on vacant key positions

    Prasar Bharati’s woes on vacant key positions

    NEW DELHI: The union cabinet has decided to maintain status quo in Prasar Bharati with regard to recruitment of people up to the age of 62 to allow the public broadcaster to fill key positions that have been lying vacant or are likely.

     

    These include the posts of Member (Finance) who has put in his papers but whose resignation has not yet been accepted, Member (Personnel) whose tenure has ended, and Board Chairperson Mrinal Pande whose tenure is ending on 30 April.

     

    The cabinet decision came on a proposal by the ministry of information and broadcasting.  

     

    Interestingly, a group of ministers (GoM) had earlier recommended that the age for these positions be lowered to 55 years and that recommendation has been under the consideration of the government. However, since the tenure of this government is ending and the implementation of GoM recommendations for lowering the age requires an amendment to the Prasar Bharati Act.

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar told indiantelevision.com that he was unhappy that no steps had been taken to fill important posts, which he feels should have been done before they become vacant.

     

    Meanwhile, reliable Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com that a majority of the 1150 critical posts for programme executives, production assistants and duty officers recommended by the GoM had been filled. Prasar Bharati had received clearance early last year for immediately filling up 1150 posts out of the 3452 posts which had been identified as critical and approved by the GoM in June 2009.  

     

    The pubcaster has not had any senior-level recruitment since it came into being in September 1997, and the sources said that those posts which could not be filled out of these were held up because there is no Prasar Bharati recruitment board.

     

    The source said steps are being taken to set up the board at the earliest so that the pubcaster does not face such difficulties in future.

      

    In March last year, the pubcaster had in a notice in ‘Employment News’ notified ‘combined recruitment for the post of programme executive and transmission executive examination’ for 1166 posts to be filled after interviews by the staff selection committee (SSC).

     

    As of early 2013, there were 1362 vacancies in Group A, 1,584 in Group B, 4863 in Group C and 2272 in group D in All India Radio (AIR). In Doordarshan (DD), 724 posts are vacant in Group A, 1140 in Group B, 2871 in Group C, and 1451 in Group D.

     

    AIR and DD had total staff strength of 33,800 against a total sanctioned strength of 48,022, leaving a gap of 14,222 posts.

     

    The most critically affected areas were the programme wing and the news services division (AIR)/DD News.

     

    The Committee for Information Technology in 2012 regretted that Prasar Bharati had failed to live up to the assurance given by then Prasar Bharati CEO that the recruitment boards for Prasar Bharati would be set up by 31 March 2011.

     

    It is understood that the union public service commission and SSC had both refused to select for a non-governmental organization, thus creating a new problem for the ministry/Prasar Bharati.

     

    The Proposal for setting up a Prasar Bharati recruitment board was approved by Prasar Bharati Board on 21 July 2010 and discussed in the ministry and a final proposal was referred to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) on 15 February 2011. DoPT concurred with the proposal in June 2011 and the comments of the department of expenditure (DOE) were also received on 28 September 2011.

     

    The DoE had requested that a separate proposal be formulated for creation of posts for the secretariat of Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board and also requested for drafting of agreement containing terms and conditions of the members of the board. This had been done and the proposal sent to DoE in February 2012 and then to the law ministry.