3. Establishment and composition of Corporation.—(1)With effect from such date as the Central
Government may by notification appointin this behalf, there shall be established for the purposes of this
Act aCorporation, to be known as the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation ofIndia).
(2) The Corporation shall be a body corporate by the nameaforesaid, having perpetual succession and
a common seal with power to acquire,hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to
contract, andshall by the said name sue and be sued.
(3) The headquarters of the Corporation shall be at NewDelhi and the Corporation may establish
offices, kendras or stations at otherplaces in India and, with the previous approval of the Central
Government,outside India.
(4) The general superintendence, direction and managementof the affairs of the Corporation shall vest
in the Prasar Bharati Board whichmay exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be
exercisedor done by the Corporation under this Act.
(5) The Board shall consist of—
(a) a Chairman;
(b) oneExecutive Member;
(c) one Member(Finance);
(d) one Member(Personnel);
(e) six Part-time Members;
(f) Director-General(Akashvani), ex officio;
(g) Director-General (Doordarshan), ex officio;
(h) onerepresentative of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, to be nominated by
that Ministry; and
(i) tworepresentatives of the employees of the Corporation, of whom one shall beelected by the
engineering staff from amongst themselves and one shall beelected by the other employees from
amongst themselves.
(6) The Corporation may appoint such committees as may benecessary for the efficient performance,
exercise and discharge of its functions, powers and duties:
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Provided that all or a majority of the members of eachcommittee shall be Members and a member of
any such committee who is not aMember shall have only the right to attend meetings of the committee
and takepart in the proceedings thereof, but shall not have the right to vote.
(7) The Corporation may associate with itself, in suchmanner and for such purposes as may be
provided by regulations, any person whoseassistance or advice it may need in complying with any of the
provisions of thisAct and a person so associated shall have the right to take part in thediscussions of the
Board relevant to the purposes of which he has beenassociated, but shall not have the right to vote.
(8) No act or proceeding of the Board or of any committeeappointed by it under sub-section (6) shall
be invalidated merely by reason of—
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of,the Board or such committee; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as aMember or a member of such
committee;or
(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Board or suchcommittee not affecting the merits of the
case.
4. Appointment of Chairman and other Members.—(1) The Chairman and the other Members,
except the ex officio Members, the Nominated Member and the elected Members shall be appointed by
the President of India on the recommendation of a committee consisting of—
(a) the Chairman of the Council of States, who shall be the Chairman of the Committee;
(b) the Chairman of the Press Council of India established under section 4 of the Press Council
Act, 1978(37 of 1978); and
(c) one nominee of the President of India.
(2) No appointment of a Member shall be invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy in, or any
defect in the constitution of, the committee appointed under sub-section (1).
(3) The Chairman and the Part-time Members shall be persons of eminence in public life; the
Executive Member shall be a person having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such
matters as administration, management, broadcasting, education, literature, culture, arts, music, dramatics
or journalism; the Member (Finance) shall be a person having special knowledge or practical experience
in respect of financial matters and the Member (Personnel) shall be a person having special knowledge or
practical experience in respect of personnel management and administration.
(4) The recommendations made by the committee constituted under sub-section (1) shall be binding
for the purposes of appointment under this section.
5. Powers and functions of Executive Member.—TheExecutive Member shall be the Chief
Executive of the Corporation and shall,subject to the control and supervision of the Board, exercise such
powers anddischarge such functions of the Board as it may delegate to him.
6. Term of office, conditions of service, etc., of Chairman and other Members.—1
[(1) The
Chairman shall be Part-time Member and shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on
which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier:
Provided that any person holding office as a Chairman immediately before the commencement of the
Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Act, 2008 (12 of 2008) shall, in so far as
his appointment is inconsistent with the provisions of this sub-section, cease to hold office on such
commencement as such Chairman and shall not be entitled to any compensation because of his ceasing to
hold such office.]
(2) 1
*** the Member (Finance) and the Member (Personnel) shall be Whole-time Members and every
such Member shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or
until he attains the age of sixty-two years, whichever is earlier.
1.Subs. by Act 12 of 2008, s.2,for sub-section (1) (w.e.f .7-2-2008).
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[(2A) The Executive Member shall be a Whole-time Member and shall hold office for a term of
five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years,
whichever is earlier:
Provided that any person holding office as an Executive Member immediately before the
commencement of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Act, 2008
(12 of 2008), shall, in so far as his appointment is inconsistent with the provisions of this sub-section,
cease to hold office on such commencement as such Executive Member and shall not be entitled to any
compensation because of his ceasing to hold such office.]
(3) The term of office of Part-time Members shall be six years, but one-third of such Members shall
retire on the expiration of every second year.
(4) The term of office of an elected Member shall be two years or till he ceases to be an employee of
the Corporation, whichever is earlier.
(5) As soon as may be after the establishment of the Corporation, the President of India may, by
order, make such provision as he thinks fit for curtailing the term of office of some of the Part-time
Members then appointed in order that one-third of the Members holding office as such Part-time
Members shall retire in every second year thereafter.
(6) Where before the expiry of the term of office of a person holding the office of Chairman, or any
other Member, a vacancy arises, for any reason whatsoever, such vacancy shall be deemed to be a casual
vacancy and the person appointed or elected to fill such vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired period
of the term for which his predecessor in office would have held office if such vacancy had not arisen.
(7) The Whole-time Members shall be the employees of the Corporation and as such shall be entitled
to such salaries and allowances and shall be subject to such conditions of service in respect of leave,
pension (if any), provident fund and other matters as may be prescribed:
Provided that the salaries and allowances and the conditions of service shall not be varied to their
disadvantage after their appointment.
(8) The Chairman and Part-time Members shall be entitled to such allowances as may be prescribed.
7. Removal and suspension of Chairman and Members.—(1)Subject to the provisions of
sub-section (3), the Chairman or any other Member,except an ex officio Member, the Nominated Member
and an elected Member, shallonly be removed from his office by order of the President of India on the
groundof misbehavior after the Supreme Court, on a reference being made to it by thePresident, has, on
inquiry held in accordance with such procedure as the SupremeCourt may by rules provide, reported that
the Chairman or such other Member, asthe case may be, ought, on such ground, be removed.
(2) ThePresident may suspend from office the Chairman or other Member except an exofficio
Member, the Nominated Member or an elected Member, in respect of whom areference has been made to
the Supreme Court under sub-section (1) until thePresident has passed orders on receipt of the report of
the Supreme Court onsuch reference.
(3)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the President may, byorder, remove the
Chairman or any Whole-time Member from his office if suchChairman or such Whole-time Member—
(a) ceases to be a citizen of India; or
(b) is adjudged an insolvent; or
(c) engages during his term of office in any paidemployment outside the duties of his office; or
(d) is convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude;or
(e) is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continuein office by reason of infirmity of body or
mind:
1. Words “The Executive Member,” omitted by Act 12 of 2008, s. 2 (w.e.f. 7-2-2008).
2. Ins. by s. 2, ibid. (w.e.f. 7-2-2008).
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Provided that the President may, by order, remove anyPart-time Member from his office if he is
adjudged an insolvent or is convictedof any offence involving moral turpitude or where he is, in the
opinion of thePresident, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of body or mind.
(4) If the Chairman or any Whole-time Member, except any exofficio Member, the Nominated
Member or any elected Member, is, or becomes in anyway concerned or interested in any contract or
agreement made by or on behalf ofthe Corporation or the Government of India or the Government of a
State or,participates in any way in the profit thereof, or in any benefit or emolumentarising therefrom than
as a member, and in common with other members of anincorporated company, he shall, for the purposes
of sub-section (1), be deemedto be guilty of misbehaviour.
(5) If a Part-time Member is, or becomes in any wayconcerned, or interested in any contract or
agreement made by or on behalf of theCorporation, he shall, for the purposes of sub-section (1), be
deemed to beguilty of misbehaviour.
(6) The Chairman or any other Member may resign his officeby giving notice thereof in writing to the
President of India and on suchresignation being accepted, the Chairman or other Member shall be deemed
to havevacated his office.
8. Meetings of Board.—(1) The Board shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such
rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at
meetings) as may be provided by regulations:
Provided that there shall not be less than six meetings every year but three months shall not intervene
between one meeting and the next meeting.
(2) A Member shall be deemed to have vacated his office if he absents himself for three consecutive
meetings of the Board without the leave of the Chairman.
(3) The Chairman shall preside at the meetings of the Board and if for any reason he is unable to
attend any meeting, the Executive Member and in the absence of both, any other Member elected by the
Members present at such meeting, shall preside at the meeting.
(4) All questions which come up before any meeting of the Board shall be decided by a majority of
the votes of the Members present and voting and, in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman, or in
his absence, the person presiding, shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.
9. Officers and other employees of Corporation.—(1) Subject to such control, restrictions and
conditions as may be prescribed, the Corporation may appoint, after consultation with the Recruitment
Board, the Director-General (Akashvani), the Director-General (Doordarshan) and such other officers and
other employees as may be necessary.
(2) The method of recruitment of such officers and employees and all other matters connected
therewith and the conditions of service of such officers and other employees shall be such as may be
provided by regulations.
10. Establishment of Recruitment Boards.—(1) the Corporation shall, as soon as may be, after the
appointed day and in such manner and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed,
establish for the purposes of section 9, one or more Recruitment Boards consisting wholly of persons
other than the Members, officers and other employees of the Corporation:
Provided that for the purposes of appointment to the posts carrying scales of pay which are not less
than that of a Joint Secretary to the Central Government, the Recruitment Board shall consist of the
Chairman, other Members, the ex officio Members, the Nominated Member and the elected Members.
(2) The qualifications and other conditions of service of the members constituting the Recruitment
Board and the period for which such members shall hold office, shall be such as may be prescribed.
1
[11. Status of officers and employees.—(1) All officers and employees recruited for the purposes of
Akashvani or Doordarshan before the appointed day and in service in the Corporation as on the 1st day of
1. Subs. by Act 6 of 2012, s. 2, for section 11 (w.e.f. 8-3-2012).
8
April, 2000, shall be on deemed deputation to the Corporation with effect from the 1st day of April, 2000,
and shall so continue till their retirement.
(2) All officers and employees recruited during the period on or after the appointed day till the
5th day of October, 2007, shall be on deemed deputation to the Corporation with effect from the 1st day
of April, 2000 or the date of their joining service in the Corporation, whichever is later and until their
retirement.
Explanation.—For the purposes of sub-sections (1) and (2), “officers and employees recruited” means
officers and employees recruited either under the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution or in
accordance with the regulations made under the Act, but shall not include persons engaged or appointed
on daily wages, casual, ad hoc or work charged basis.
(3) The officers and employees referred to in sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall be entitled to
the pay and all other benefits as admissible to an employee of the Central Government:
Provided that such officers and employees shall not be entitled to any deputation allowance.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Corporation
shall have the disciplinary and supervisory powers and full control on the officers and employees referred
to in sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), including the power to transfer them from one place, post or
media to another, and to suspend, initiate disciplinary proceedings and impose major or minor penalties:
Provided that the power to impose major penalties of compulsory retirement, removal or dismissal
from service shall be exercised by the Central Government.
(5) All officers and employees recruited after the 5th day of October, 2007 shall be officers and
employees of the Corporation and shall be governed by such conditions of service as may be specified in
the regulations.
11A. Section 11 not to apply to certain officers and employees.—(1) The provisions of section 11
shall not apply to officers and employees of the Indian Information Service, the Central Secretariat
Service or any other service borne on any cadre outside Akashvani or Doordarshan, who have been
working in Akashvani or Doordarshan before the appointed day or in service in the Corporation after that
day.
(2) The terms and conditions of service in the Corporation of officers and employees referred to in
sub-section (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.
11B. Transfer of posts of Akashvani and Doordarshan to Corporation.—(1) All posts in the
erstwhile Akashvani and Doordarshan other than the posts borne on the strength of the cadres referred to
insub-section (2) shall be deemed to have been transferred to the Corporation with effect from the 1st day
of April, 2000.
(2) All matters relating to the posts borne on the strength of the cadres of the Indian Information
Service, the Central Secretariat Service or any other cadre outside Akashvani or Doordarshan, in so far as
such posts are concerned with the Corporation, shall be determined in such manner and on such terms and
conditions as may be prescribed.]
12. Functions and powers of Corporation.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the
primary duty of the Corporation to organise and conduct public broadcasting services to inform, educate
and entertain the public and to ensure a balanced development of broadcasting on radio and television.
Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the provisions of this section shall
be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885(13 of 1985).
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(2) The Corporation shall, in the discharge of its functions, be guided by the following objectives,
namely:—
(a) upholding the unity and integrity of the country and the values enshrined in the Constitution;
(b) safeguarding the citizen’s right to be informed freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters
of public interest, national or international, and presenting a fair and balanced flow of information
including contrasting views without advocating any opinion or ideology of its own;
(c) paying special attention to the fields of education and spread of literacy, agriculture, rural
development, environment, health and family welfare and science and technology;
(d) providing adequate coverage to the diverse cultures and languages of the various regions of
the country by broadcasting appropriate programmes;
(e) providing adequate coverage to sports and games so as to encourage healthy competition and
the spirit of sportsmanship;
(f) providing appropriate programmes keeping in view the special needs of the youth;
(g) informing and stimulating the national consciousness in regard to the status and problems of
women and paying special attention to the upliftment of women;
(h) promoting social justice and combating exploitation, inequality and such evils as
untouchability and advancing the welfare of the weaker sections of the society;
(i) safeguarding the rights of the working classes and advancing their welfare;
(j) serving the rural and weaker sections of the people and those residing in border regions,
backward or remote areas;
(k) providing suitable programmes keeping in view the special needs of the minorities and tribal
communities;
(l) taking special steps to protect the interests of children, the blind, the aged, the handicapped
and other vulnerable sections of the people;
(m) promoting national integration by broadcasting in a manner that facilitates communication in
the languages in India; and facilitating the distribution of regional broadcasting services in every State
in the languages of that State;
(n) providing comprehensive broadcast coverage through the choice of appropriate technology
and the best utilisation of the broadcast frequencies available and ensuring high quality reception;
(o) promoting research and development activities in order to ensure that radio and television
broadcast technology are constantly updated; and
(p) expanding broadcasting facilities by establishing additional channels of transmission at
various levels.
(3) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the Corporation
may take such steps as it thinks fit—
(a) to ensure that broadcasting is conducted as a public service to provide and produce
programmes;
(b) to establish a system for the gathering of news for radio and television;
(c) to negotiate for purchase of, or otherwise acquire, programmes and rights or privileges in
respect of sports and other events, films, serials, occasions, meetings, functions or incidents of public
interest, for broadcasting and to establish procedures for the allocation of such programmes, rights or
privileges to the services;
(d) to establish and maintain a library or libraries of radio, television and other materials;
10
(e) to conduct or commission, from time to time, programmes, audience research, market or
technical service, which may be released to such persons and in such manner and subject to such
terms and conditions as the Corporation may think fit;
(f) to provide such other services as may be specified by regulations.
(4) Nothing in sub-sections (2) and (3) shall prevent the Corporation from managing on behalf of the
Central Government and in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be specified by that
Government the broadcasting of External Services and monitoring of broadcasts made by organisations
outside India on the basis of arrangements made for reimbursement of expenses by the Central
Government.
(5) For the purposes of ensuring that adequate time is made available for the promotion of the
objectives set out in this section, the Central Governmentshall have the power to determine the maximum
limit of broadcast time in respect of the advertisement.
(6) The Corporation shall be subject to no civil liability on the ground merely that it failed to comply
with any of the provisions of this section.
(7) The Corporation shall have power to determine and levy fees and other service charges for or in
respect of the advertisements and such programmes as may be specified by regulations:
Provided that the fees and other service charges levied and collected under this sub-section shall not
exceed such limits as may be determined by the Central Government, from time to time.
13. Parliamentary Committee.—(1) There shall be constituted a Committee consisting of
twenty-two Members of Parliament, of whom fifteen from the House of the People to be elected by the
Members thereof and seven from the Council of States to be elected by the Members thereof in
accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, to
oversee that the Corporation discharges its functions in accordance with the provisions of this Act and, in
particular, the objectives set out in section 12 and submit a report thereon to Parliament.
(2) The Committee shall function in accordance with such rules as may be made by the Speaker of the
House of the People.
14. Establishment of Broadcasting Council, term of office and removal, etc., of members
thereof.—(1) There shall be established, by notification, as soon as may be after the appointed day, a
Council, to be known as the Broadcasting Council, to receive and consider complaints referred to in
section 15 and to advise the Corporation in the discharge of its functions in accordance with the
objectives set out in section 12.
(2) The Broadcasting Council shall consist of—
(i) a President and ten other members to be appointed by the President of India from amongst
persons of eminence in public life;
(ii) four Members of Parliament, of whom two from the House of the People to be nominated by
the Speaker thereof and two from the Council of States to be nominated by the Chairman thereof.
(3) The President of the Broadcasting Council shall be a whole-time member and every other member
shall be a part-time member and the President or the part-time member shall hold office as such for a term
of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office.
(4) The Broadcasting Council may constitute such number of Regional Councils as it may deem
necessary to aid and assist the Council in the discharge of its functions.
(5) The President of the Broadcasting Council shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and
shall be subject to such conditions of service in respect of leave, pension (if any), provident fund and
other matters as may be prescribed:
Provided that the salary and allowances and the conditions of service shall not be varied to the
disadvantage of the President of the Broadcasting Council after his appointment.
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(6) The other members of the Broadcasting Council and the members of the Regional Councils
constituted under sub-section (4) shall be entitled to such allowances as may be prescribed.
15. Jurisdiction of, and the procedure to be followed by, Broadcasting Council.—(1) The
Broadcasting Council shall receive and consider complaints from—
(i) any person or group of persons alleging that a certain programme or broadcast or the
functioning of the Corporation in specific cases or in general is not in accordance with the objectives
for which the Corporation is established;
(ii) any person (other than an officer or employee of the Corporation) claiming himself to have
been treated unjustly or unfairly in any manner (including unwarranted invasion of privacy,
misrepresentation, distortion or lack of objectivity) in connection with any programme broadcast by
the Corporation.
(2) A complaint under sub-section (1) shall be made in such manner and within such period as may be
specified by regulations.
(3) The Broadcasting Council shall follow such procedure as it thinks fit for the disposal of
complaints received by it.
(4) If the complaint is found to be justified either wholly or in part, the Broadcasting Council shall
advise the Executive Member to take appropriate action.
(5) If the Executive Member is unable to accept the recommendation of the Broadcasting Council, he
shall place such recommendation before the Board for its decision thereon.
(6) If the Board is also unable to accept the recommendation of the Broadcasting Council, it shall
record its reasons therefor and inform the Broadcasting Council accordingly.
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (5) and (6), where the Broadcasting Council
deems it appropriate, it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, require the Corporation to broadcast its
recommendations with respect to a complaint in such manner as the Council may deem fit.