MUMBAI: All India Radio is to get Rs 7.60 billion out of the approved budget of Rs 14.62 billion for Prasar Bharati under Revenue Non-Plan for the financial year 2012-13.

Pointing out that Doordarshan will get Rs 7.02 billion, Information & Broadcasting Ministry sources told Radioandmusic.com that the Government has trifurcated the Revenue Non-Plan support to Prasar Bharati in the form of Grants-in-aid (Salary), Grant for creation of Capital Assets, and Grants-in-aid (General).

Prasar Bharati, which had earned revenue of Rs 13.10 billion in 2010-11, had earned Rs 11.83 billion by February 2012 in financial year 2011-12.

However, after meeting the Operating Expenditure of Rs 28.51 billion, its deficit stood at Rs 16.68 billion for 2011-12, subject to reconciliation of accounts.

Out of the total deficit, Rs 13.89 billion had been met from Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR), I&B sources say.

In comparison, the deficit in 2010-11 had been Rs 12.37 billion of which Rs 11.35 billion had been met through IEBR.

Meanwhile, the outlay in the Annual Plan (2012-13) for Prasar Bharati has been fixed at 5.85 billion. The Government will provide total financial support in the form of Grant-in-aid and Loan.

There will be a new scheme - Content Development and Dissemination - which is to be fully funded by IEBR of Prasar Bharati towards Revenue plan component, Ministry sources add.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology has noted that the Commercial revenue earned by Doordarshan is lesser than the projections made during each year of the Eleventh Plan. It said the growth of the revenue earned by Doordarshan had been ‘very slow’ during these years, noting that IEBR of Rs 50 billion at the rate of Rs 10 billion for each of the annual plans has been assumed for the Twelfth Plan.

In this direction, Rs 4 billion out of IEBR has been earmarked during the year 2012-13 for planned projects of Prasar Bharati. The share of Doordarshan in this regard is Rs 2.5 billion.

The Committee is ‘surprised to find that on the one hand, specific provision has been made and exclusive outlay out of IEBR has been earmarked for planned schemes. On the other hand, the Ministry has submitted in the written replies that Prasar Bharati may not be in a position to afford the expenditure for planned schemes for IEBR. ‘

The Committee was also informed that according to the recommendations of the Group of Ministers on Prasar Bharati, the Government will meet expenditure for four categories: Salary & Salary related establishment expenses, expenses on Augmentation & Replacement of Capital Assets and the expenditure on the remaining items,  Other Administrative Expenses, and Software & Programme related expenses.

In addition, Prasar Bharati has to supplement IEBR in all these four categories and remain in focus for budget crisis and paucity of funds.

Pending a decision of the Government on the recommendations of GoM, a specific projection out of IEBR for planned schemes has been met for the first time.

The Committee concludes that Prasar Bharati had great challenges in the coming years in regard to generating resources for the activities. The Committee therefore ‘strongly’ recommended that DD should explore all the possibilities of revenue generation so as to meet the targets of projections made for planned schemes out of IEBR.

The Committee also notes that Doordarshan has to prepare for meeting the devised parameters of sharing the expenditure according to the formula suggested by GoM.