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NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned just Rs 7.94 billion, a little
over half the projection of Rs 12 billion, during 2011-12
through commercial means.
While admitting Doordarshan had failed to meet its projected
target in any of the years of the Eleventh Plan, Prasar Bharati
sources told indiantelevision.com that the projection for
2012-13 had provisionally been kept at Rs 13 billion.
Doordarshan earned Rs 9.44 billion against a projection of
Rs 12.37 billion through commercial means in 2010-11.
The
commercial revenue has been falling short of the target for
the other three years of the 11th Plan as well. While actual
revenues in 2007-08 stood at Rs 7.20 billion, the projection
was that DD would achieve Rs 9.47 billion. Similarly, in 2008-09
the commercial revenue was Rs 7.35 billion (projection Rs
10.84 billion. The following year was no different with DD
earning Rs 8.30 billion against a target of Rs 9.47 billion.
The sources sought to argue that as Prasar Bharati was a public
service broadcaster, it cannot be guided purely by commercial
motives and revenue generation is not its main objective.
Measures being taken to increase revenues, the sources said,
include aggressive marketing, putting into best use the spare
infrastructure available with Prasar Bharati, content improvement,
augmenting DTH services, and sharing of towers etc.
It was claimed that DD had witnessed a gradual growth of revenue
over the years. It reaches to the people living in far flung
and remotest part of the country carrying the programmes and
schemes being implemented by the Government for the welfare
of the community.
During
the Eleventh Plan, the total revenue earned by AIR and Doordarshan
came to Rs 57.68 billion. The total expenditure met out of
Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources came to Rs 52.90 billion.
Thus there was a gap of Rs 4.78 billion between the revenue
earned and expenditure met out of IEBR.
Asked by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information
Technology whether under utilised outlay of IEBR is surrendered,
the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said all the residual
funds out of internal revenue of Prasar Bharati are kept in
its IEBR kitty as envisaged under sections 18 and 19 of Prasar
Bharati Act and used for meeting its requirement on account
of special maintenance of building and other capital assets
and to bridge the budget gap.
Moreover, Prasar Bharati used to have budget cushion of about
Rs three to five billion to meet contingencies. There is no
provision in the Prasar Bharati Act 1990 to the effect that
all the unspent amount of IEBR should be surrendered to the
Government.
In a recent report, the Parliamentary Committee said DD should
explore all the possibilities of revenue generation so as
to meet the targets of projections made for planned schemes
out of IEBR.
Besides, Doordarshan has to prepare for meeting the devised
parameters of sharing the expenditure as per the formula suggested
by the Group of Ministers, the Committee noted.
The Committee observed huge gaps between the total IEBR of
Prasar Bharati and the expenditure met out of IEBR during
each year of the Eleventh Plan. During 2010-11, the expenditure
met was Rs 11.13 billion out of Rs 29.40 billion of IEBR.
The Committee wanted to be apprised about the total IEBR kitty
of Prasar Bharati. The Committee also wanted to be apprised
as to how the IEBR savings are maintained meaning thereby
whether the amount is kept in accounts of banks etc. In that
case, it said the amount generated through interest may also
to be communicated to the Committee so as to understand the
concept of IEBR kitty.
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