In a major step towards addressing the issue of critical manpower shortage in the public broadcaster, the Information & Broadcasting ministry has initiated the process to set up a Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board.
Sources said that the ministry had held discussions related to the composition of the board with the Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
According to a recommendation of the Group of Ministers (GoM), a recruitment board had to be created for Prasar Bharati. The ministry had been discussing with the department of expenditure and DoPT and has got their clearance. Now the final go-ahead from the cabinet is required, the sources said.
Officials said that as per the I&B ministry's proposal, the Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board would be headed by an official of the rank of Additional Secretary to government of India and would have two more members of Joint Secretary rank.
In all, there would be 45 positions which will be created to set up the board which will employ personnel exclusively for Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR), sources said.
Prasar Bharati has been looking forward to the filling up of at least 1,150 posts in the programming and the technical wings of Doordarshan and All India Radio.
The posts include assistant station directors, engineering assistants, programme executives, transmission executives, technicians, camerapersons, production assistants and administrative staff, the officials said.
They said that once the board is in place and the hiring begins, it would be a major infusion of new blood into critical work areas in Doordarshan and All India Radio.
