Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy has favoured reviving the licence fee for radios and television sets or at least a one-time tax to make Prasar Bharati financially viable, though it might be an unpopular measure.
Speaking at the 14th national convention of the Association of Radio and Television Engineering Employees in Chennai, he said there was nothing wrong in people contributing to the expenses of the public broadcaster. This practice is prevalent in the UK and Japan, where fees are paid annually towards the expenses of BBC and NHK television, he pointed out.
He said Prasar Bharati would continue to get government funding until it attained financial self-sufficiency. Doordarshan and All India Radio were facing funds shortage of Rs 1,200 crore every year, even after their commercial income. This amount was not huge for a country with a billion plus population, he added.
The DTH service of Prasar Bharati would have at least 50 channels soon, most of them private. It would go up to 100 next year, Jaipal Reddy said.
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