5/2/2017 EssayonPrasarBharati(BroadcastingCorporationofIndia)

Theyear1997wasa'landmarkyear'whichsawfarreachingmeasurestofreethebroadcastmediafromthe
shacklesofGovernmentcontrol50yearsafterindependence.

Itwasthefirstinstanceofagovernmentvoluntarilybringinglegislationtofreethemediafromitscontrolwhich
maysetinmotionachainofeventsinthecountrybringinginrevolutionarychangesinthefield.

ForoverthreedecadesbeginningwithChandacommitteereportin1966andcontinuingthroughthereportsofthe
VergheseCommittee(AkashBharti)in1978andtheJoshiCommitteein1985expertcommitteessetupbythe
governmentmadeacasefororganizationalrestructuringofbroadcasting,soastogiveitgreaterautonomy.

Asaresult,thePrasarBharatiAct(1990)wasformedbythegovernment.Itwaskeptidleforsevenyears.InJuly
1997,itwasactivatedafterbeingnotifiedandcameintoforceonSeptember22,1997.Thencametheamendments
totheActwhichwaswidelyseenasusheringinaregimeoffullautonomytoAllIndiaRadioandDoordarshan.

ThePrasarBharatiBoardhasbeenformedwithanexecutivememberandsixparttimemembers,pavingtheway
forgrantingautonomytoDoordarshanandAllIndiaRadio.

Theamendmentswereexpectedtobeincorporatedduringthewintersessionof11thParliamentbutduetothe
dissolutionoftheHouseitwasdelayed.

TheobjectivesofthePrasarBharatiBillare:

1.ToconferautonomyonAkashvaniandDoordarshan,therebyensuringthattheyfunctioninafair,objectiveand
creativemanner.

2.Upholdingofbothunityandintegrityofthecountry.

3.Upholdingofthedemocraticandsocialvaluesenshrinedintheconstitution.

4.Tolookafterthesafeguardingofthecitizen'srighttobeinformedfreely,truthfullyandobjectively.

TheBillhastriggeredalivelydebateoncontroversialprovisionssuchascrossmediaholdings,theextentofforeign
equityallowed,uplinkingfacilitiesandthecosmopolitanandpowersoftheBroadcastingAuthorityofIndia.

Mehtapointsoutthat,theBillhastobeinharmonywiththebasicapproachofthebroadcastingpolicyaslaiddown
bytheSupremeCourt,whichstatedinarecentjudgementthat"airwaysorfrequenciesfortransmissionof
electroniccommunicationarepublicpropertyandshouldnotbethemonopolyofthegovernmentoranybodyelse.

Itshouldofferapluralityanddiversityofnewsandviews".Also,thepolicyhastotakecognizanceoftherapid
changesinelectronicmediatechnology(1989:9).

Sofarradiohasnotenjoyedhighcredibilitybecauseofitsbeingagovernmentcontrolledmediumbutwiththe
implementationofPrasarBharati,itisexpectedthatradiowillnothavetofacesuchcommentsofcritics.

AccordingtoMalhan,"AIRisconsideredbymediaauthoritiesandresearcherstohaveproveditsworthandutility
bothasaninformationalchannelandadevelopmentandculturalactivist.Ithasprovidedhealthyentertainment
throughitsvariouslightandhumorousprogrammes.

Extensionresearchandotherfieldsurveyshavealreadygivengreatcredittoradioasacrediblepromoterofa
suitableclimatefordevelopmentandprogressasalsoforhavingadvancedformeducationalandcultural
renaissance.

Itscontributionintheformoftransmittingusefulandtimelyinformation,motivationandsuggestionsforrural
developmentisconceded.Itssponsorsclaimthatradioishelpingtocreateaclimateofopinioninwhichsocial
changecantakeplaceandpeoplecouldbeinvolvedintheprocess"(1993136).

ItwaspointedoutatoneoftheseminarsorganizedbyAIR,thatwhileAIRmayhavelostitsprimacyin
metropolitancitiesandbigtowns.

Itisstillthemainsourceofnewsandentertainmentinruralareasandthispositionislikelytocontinueformany
yearsforobviousreasonslikecostconsiderations,unavailabilityofelectricityandhighrateofilliteracy.

Thelargenumberofunderprivilegedpeopleinruralareasstillstickstoradio.(Gupta:1995).

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Variousresearchexperimentshaveprovedthatradioisaneffectivemediumtoaddressadequatelyaparticular
problemofoursociety.Radio,ifusedeffectively,canhelpagencies,governmentsandthepeopleingeneraltosolve
theproblemofilliteracyandignoranceinourcountry.

InsouthandSouthEastAsiaregioninitsseverallanguages,extensiveprogrammingondevelopmentand
environmentissues,packagedasinformation,educationorentertainmentisofferedonradio.

RadioplayedasignificantpartintransformingthepublicopinionandbehaviourofanentireAmericabydefining
thenoblepurposeofIIndWorldWar,andalteredthelivesofthepeopletowillinglycontributetothejointeffort.

Radionetworkasaninstantaneousnewsmediumunifiedadividednationintoonethatsawthewarasamoral
cause.

InIndia,atpresentlocalradiostationsbroadcastdevelopmentprogrammesforruralmasses,calledfarmandhome
programmes.Thereisamovetoexpandlocalradiostations.Thesestationscanbroadcastareaspecific
programmeskeepinginmindtheneedsofthelocalpeople.Thus,radiocanbecomeoneofthepowerfulmediumfor
development.

ThemainprobleminbroadcastingdevelopmentalradioprogrammesisthatmostoftheAIRstationsaresingle
channelonesso,theyarenotabletofitalltheprogrammesofdevelopmentintheirscheduleastherearedemands
forentertainmentprogrammesalso.

Eventoday,theprovisionofradiosetsinschools,adultornonformaleducationcentresisinadequate.Thereis
lackofcoordinationandcooperationamongtheAIRofficials,developmentpractitioners,educationistsandother
keypersonsfortappingthepotentialofradiofordevelopment.

Moreover,radioprogrammesmostlyfocusonspecifictargetgroups.Suchasprogrammesforchildren,women,
youth,tribals,industrialworkersprogrammesandsoon.AudienceresearchofAIRhasshownthatthesespecial
programmeshavehighlistenership.

Everymediumofcommunicationhasculturalidentityandawayfromthis,ittendstoloseitseffectiveness.Overthe
yearsradiohascreatedforitselfanimageofbeinganimportantsourceofeducationanddevelopment.

Thishasbeenpossiblebecauseofitshistoryofputtingoutprogrammesrelatedtosocialandcivicproblems,
agriculturalprogrammes,health,familyplanning,andnutritionrelatedprogrammesandonformalandnonformal
educationbroadcasts.

Television,ontheotherhandhasevolvedforitselfanimageofbeingessentiallyanentertainmentmediumand
evenasanextendedarmofthefilmindustry.(GuptaandAggarwal:100).

Rao(1992)foundvillagers'exposuretoradiowassignificantlyhighwithasmanyas50percenthavingaccesstothe
radioandgettingthebenefitofexposuretobroadcastsasfarasreachandutilizationofthemediaandvillagers'
exposuretootherinformationalchannelswasconcerned.

Itwasalsofoundthatagricultureorruralprogrammeswerehighonthepriorityoflisteners.Thelocalradio
stationsareveryeffectiveinreachingthepeopleandensuringtheirparticipation.

Asfarasruraldevelopmentisconcerned,itispossibletobroadcastneedbasedagricultureprogrammes.
Moreover,itprovidesscopefortheuseoflocalexpertiseandtalents.

Audienceresearchesconductedallaroundthecountryhasshownthatmanyradioprogrammeshavefairlyhigh
percentageoflisteners.ThelettersreceivedfromthelistenersbyAIR,Vadodaraeliminatefirmlythewrongnotion
ofradiobeing"notlistenedto".

TheseincludefeedbackandsuggestionsonpopularaswellasspecialprogrammessuchasYuvvani,filmsongs,
ruralbasedprogrammes,farmer'sprogrammes,expert'stalksandquestionanswerformatprogrammes.

Manywereattractedtoradioandtherewasatimewhen"ChhayaGeet"onVividhBharatiand"BinacaGeetMala"
werelistenedtoreligiouslybyoneandall.Radiocommercialshavebeenverypopular.

InacountrylikeIndiawithdifferentlanguages,commercialradiohasbeeneffectivelyusedbytheadvertisers,
especiallyatlocallevel,tocarrytheproductmessagestotheprospects.Themainreasonforthesuccessofradio
commercialinIndiaishighpercentageofilliteracy,whereprintmediaofnewspapersandmagazinesarenot
effectiveadvertisingmedia.

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Radiohashelpedincreatingapositiveclimateforgrowthanddevelopment.Indiahashadarichtraditionoftheuse
ofradiofornonformaleducationprogrammes,ruraldevelopmentandalsoforprovidingvarioustypesoflearning
opportunitiesandinformationtothepeople.

ThePuneRadioRuralForumProjectinIndiaiscitedasthemostcelebrateduseofradioindevelopment.Although
theprojectwassubsequentlydiscontinued,yettheexperiencedemonstratedthattheradioruralforumcanbecost
effectiveinbringingaboutcommunitydevelopment.

AIR's"Yuwani"programmehasprovidedaforumfortheselfexpressionoftheyouthbetweentheagesof15to30
years.

TheevaluationoftheAIR'sfarmers'programmeshasindicatedthattheaudiencefinedthemextremelyuseful.Itis
interestingtolearnfromtherecordprojectsofagriculturaluniversitiesthatAIR'sruralprogrammesarenotonly
usefultothevillagersbutcommandcredibilityandacceptability.

TheimprintofAIRisbestknownbythetermsradioseedsandradiofertilizers.Communitylisteningschemewas
introducedbythegovernmentinSixties.Assessmentofthisschemerevealedthatthediscussionsincommunity
listeninganddeliberationswereexcellentorgoodandparticipantslearnta'greatdeal'or'quitealot'.

Alsothesefarmersdevelopedrapidlyintodecisionmakingbodiescapableofspeedingupcommonpursuitsofthe
village(Malhan:134135).

Otherdevelopingcountrieshavealsofoundusingradiosuccessfullyinreaching"hardtoreach"ruralaudiences
quicklyandquiteinexpensively.

Vyas(1989)tappedtheeffectivenessofradiotoenhancematernalandchildhealthcareintheruralareasofIndia,
womenwereorganisedintolisteninggroupswhometregularlytolisten,discussanddecideonactionunderthe
supervisionofthetrainedpersonnels.

Evaluationandreviewoftheprogrammerevealedthat97.19percentofwomeninHaryanashowedsignificantgain
inknowledgeregardingchildsurvivalanddevelopmentissues.Theknowledgeretainedondifferenttopicsranged
from20.81percentto95.18percentdependingonthetopic.

InTamilNadu,morethan75percentofthelistenersindicatedtheirstrongdesiretousetheradio.broadcast
informationwithregardtothebehaviouralchanges,nearlyhalfofthelistenersinTamilNaduhadshowntheir
willingnesstoaddmoremilkandvegetablestotheirdietafterlisteningtotheprogrammes.

While1632percentoftherespondentshadconsultedmedicalpractitionersonimmunization,nutritivefoodfor
children,careofchildrenandhealthofpregnantwomen.

ThisprojectwascarriedoutwiththecooperationoftheMinistryofInformationandbroadcasting.Itpromoted
servicesformaterialandchildhealthcareandfosteredcommunityparticipationinthechildsurvivaland
developmentprogrammes.

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