Various committee for Development of Television in India

 

Over the years, the Government of India established a number of committees and working groups to study various aspects and issues concerning the electronic media. The UNESCO also established an International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, popularly known as McBride Commission (1977-79). The reports ofthese bodies are a valuable contribution to the media literature and constitute precious body of information. Salient features of reports and recommendations of some of the committees are summarized in the discussion below:

1. Committee on Broadcasting and Information Media (1964)

This committee, also popularly known as the Chanda Committee constituted in December 1964, presented the Report on Radio and Television in April 1966. The Committee observed: It is not possible in the Indian context for a creative medium like broadcasting to flourish under a regiment (sic) of departmental rules and regulations. It is onlyby an institutional change that AIR can be liberated from the present rigid financial and administrative procedures of the Government. It recommended that the separate Corporation, set up for Akashvani and Doordarshan, should have the freedom to evolve its own methods of recruitment, regulate scales of pay and conditions of service accordino to its needs, and devise a financial and accounting system appropriate to its creative activity.

This recommendation was considered by the Cabinet in December 1969, and the Lob Sabha was informed in April 1970 that the present was not an opportune time to consider the conversion of All India Radio into an autonomous Corporation. However, another important recommendation thåtAkashvani and Doordarshan be separated, was

 

2. Working Group on Autonomy for Akashvani and Doordarshan(1977)

The committee, also popularly known as Varghese Committee, appointed in August 1977 submitted its Report to the Government in February 1978. The report is a landmark document on the aspect of granting autonomy to the electronic media. Its major recommendations were.

(i) An autonomous national trust should be established under which

Akashvani and Doordarshan would function. It gave a name to the proposed authority-AkashBharati : the National Broadcast Trust; (ii) Radio and TV should work for the public purpose. They should function within the framework of a broad perspective of national.The proposed autonomous broadcasting trust authority should be owned by the nation and be accountable to the Parliament;The priority of broadcasting has to change from "urban elitist moorings to the rural and semi-urban areas and to the urban poor."

The quality of programmes would have to improve. It should also work towards filling the rural-urban and tradition modernity gaps;

 

The idea of one autonomous corporation each for All India Radio and Doordarshan did not find support from the Working Group. It opted for one autonomous national trust for both of the broadcast media—radio and television. It also rejected the concept of autonomous regional corporations, butt envisaged decentralization of national broadcasting authority; andThe autonomy of the authority and independence from control of the government should be guaranteed by the Constitutionbody.The Government introduced a Bill in May 1979 which envisaged setting up of an autonomous corporation known as PrasarBharati. Since the Government Went out of office, the Bill lapsed and the successor government headed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi decided not to set up an autonomous

The government later on introduced the PrasarBharati(Broadcasting Corporation of India), Act 1990 in September 1990.However, the continued foot dragging on the implementation of thePrasarBharati Act and the yawning gap between the government's rhetoric and its practice, clearly shows that autonomy for the electronic media is as distant a dream as ever.

 

3. International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems

The also popularly known as MacBride Commission, was established by UNESCO to ' to study among as other a social issues phenomenon such as increasing importance attached to communication as a social phenomenon and the consequent interest shown in the development of communication media; the growing impact and repercussions of technological progress in the field etc. some of the important recommendation of the committee are:-

Communication be no longer regardedas an incidental service and its development left to chance, Recognition of potential warrants the formulation by all nations, and particular]; developing countries, of comprehensive communication poJiciC4, linked to overall social, cultural, economic and political goals, such policies should be based on inter-ministerial and inter-disciplinary consultations with broad public participation;

Within the framework of national development policies, each country will have to work out its own set of priorities, bearing in Mind that it will not be possible to move in all directions at the same time. But, as far as resources allow, communication policies should aim at stimulating and encouraging all means of communication;

The communication component in all development projects should receive adequate financing. So-called "development support communications" are essential for mobilizing initiatives and providing information required for action in all fields of development—agriculture, health and family planning, education, religion, industry and so on. Essential communication needs to be met include the extension of basic postal services and telecommunication networks through small rural electronic exchanges; and

Development strategies should incorporate communication policies as an integral part in the diagnosis of needs and in the design and implementation of selected priorities. In this respect communication should be considered a major development resource, a vehicle to ensure real political patticipation in decision making, a central information base for defining policy options, and an instrument for creating awareness of national priorities.

 

4. Working Group on Software Planning forDoordarshan (1983)

 

The Working Group, also popularly known as the Joshi Committee, was established to make recommendation regarding programming in Indian television. It submitted its report in April 1984, sub-titled as 'An Indian Personality for Television'. The report was formally laid on the table of Lok Sabha in 1985. Even though the Working Group was formed to make recommendations regarding Doordarshan, its report underlines the overallElectronic Media communication approach and policy concerning other sectors of mass

The Working Group Report made several recommendations on creating appropriate environment for the development of creative software for Doordarshan. In the first place, the Working Group was convinced that such an environment did not exist within the present structure of the organization. It was also convinced that whatever the claims of the Government, Doordarshan did not enjoy 'functional freedom' and the lack of such freedom is having a detrimental effect on the planning and quality of its programmes. It recommended the setting up of a National Doordarshan Council which would have three roles to perform : to review and guide the organizations performance, as a guardian of Doordarshan's functional and professional autonomy, and as a counterpart of the Press Council for examining complaints of inaccuracy or bias in the reporting of news and comment on current affairs. The Report emphasized that a developing country like India is exposed to the danger of erosion of its national cultural identity, and the need is to resist the cultural invasion from outside through restriction of imported programmes and 'positive software planning'