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Prasad, who is the brother-in-law of journalist turned Rajya Sabha
MP Rajeev Shukla, is the elder brother of Anuradha Prasad, who heads
BAG Films. Anuradha Prasad's production house delivers software
to both Star India and Doordarshan,
With Swaraj out of I&B, it will be left to Prasad to oversee
the rollout of conditional access systems in the broadcast sector,
an area in which she showed a deep focus interest. The question
that arises is whether Prasad will show the zeal that Swaraj showed
in the matter, especially since the notification for the implementation
of CAS in the four metros of Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai
has already been issued. The deadline has been set as 15 July.
The I&B ministry is still to announce what will be the cost
of the basic tier of free to air channels under CAS as too how many
channels will be included in it. That may well be among the first
issues that Prasad takes up as an A priority. Then there is also
the pending issue of Star India's application for an uplinking licence
for its Star News channel. Prasad will certainly have enough on
his plate from Day 1.
Meanwhile, The information technology and communications ministry,
earlier under Pramod Mahajan, is reportedly shifting to disinvestment
minister Arun Shourie who will hold additional charge of that portfolio.
Mahajan, who resigned from his cabinet post as information technology,
communications and parliamentary affairs minister last night, will
take charge as party general secretary.
While this had been reported last night by indiantelevision.com,
Arun Jaitley, with whom he swaps places as BJP general secretary,
will be heading the law and commerce ministries and not Mahajan's
earlier portfolios. This will be Jaitley's second stint in the law
ministry.
See related story:
Mahajan, Jaitley trade
places; Swaraj may move to parliamentary affairs
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