Prasar Bharati Gets 5 New Part-time Board Members

Five part-time members have been appointed to the Prasar Bharati board, including veteran journalist Ashok Kumar Tandon, music composer Salim Merchant and BJP's Shaina NC, according to an official order on Tuesday.

The government is in the process of reconstituting the Prasar Bharati board as nine of the board's 13 positions had been vacant for the last few months.

The part-time members appointed are -- Merchant (tenure up to November 22, 2021); Alok Agrawal (tenure up to November 21, 2023); Shaina NC (tenure up to November 21, 2023); Sanjay Gupta (tenure up to November 22, 2025); and Tandon (tenure up to November 22, 2025), the order by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry stated.

Tandon, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's media adviser, was previously a member of the board.

While Shaina NC is a BJP spokesperson, Sanjay Gupta is Dainik Jagran's editor-in-chief and Alok Agarwal is a media professional.

Their appointment is with effect from the date of their assuming charge of the office.

The terms and conditions of their appointment shall be governed by the provisions of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of lndia) Act, 1990 and the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Salaries, Allowances and other Conditions of Service of Chairman, Whole-time Members and Part time Members, Rules, 2000 as amended from time to time, the order said.

"Truly humbled. Sincere thanks to @PMOIndia @narendramodi Ji for nominating me to the board of @prasarbharati," Shaina NC tweeted earlier in the day.

"Prasar Bharati is the body at heart of communication & broadcasting. A role that I will perform with utmost responsibility," she said thanking Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and the ministry.

Prasar Bharati, the Public Service Broadcaster of the country, is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence on November 23, 1997.

The largest of its kind, Prasar Bharati comprises All India Radio and Doordarshan Television Network.