I&B Ministry Constitutes Expert Committee to Review Functioning of Prasar Bharti

         The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted an Expert Committee for the purpose of reviewing the institutional frame work of Prasar Bharati including its relationship with Government, its continuing role as a public broadcaster and measures needed to ensure technical upgradation of the organization. The composition of the Expert Committee is as under:-

         i)          Sh. Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public

                     Information Infrastructure & Innovations - Chairman

         ii)         Smt. Asha Swaroop, IAS(Retd) and former Secretary to the Govt. of

                     India - Member

         iii)        Dr. B.K. Gairola, Mission Director (e-Governance) - Member

         iv)        Sh. Shekhar Kapur, Member of the National Innovation Council -

                     Member.

         v)         Prof. M.P. Gupta, IIT Delhi - Member

         vi)        Sh. Jitendra Shankar Mathur, Additional Secretary and nominated

                     member on Prasar Bharati Board.

         vii)       Shri Jawhar Sircar, Chief Executive, Prasar Bharati - Member

                     (Convenor)

         The terms of reference of the Committee are as follows:-

·                           To suggest measures to sustain, strengthen and amplify Prasar Bharati's role as a Public Broadcaster with special reference to its relationship with Government in the emerging context.

·                           To review the status of implementation of the recommendations made by various committees that have undertaken study of Prasar Bharati, namely, the Sengupta committee, the Bakshi Committee and the Narayanamurthy committee and suggest a road map ahead for enhancing the reach and potential of Prasar Bharati.

·                           To suggest measures to digitize the archival material in the possession of Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) including material from Independence Movement era, and develop enabling infrastructure, in the form of data digitalization systems, data centers and networks etc.

·                           To suggest ways of using the new media to deliver digital content - both in broadcast mode (DTH) and in a demand-based mode (Free on social media like You-Tube, and on payment through IPTV).

·                           To suggest a strategy for creating a network of domestic and overseas business partners for ensuring wider reach to a worldwide audience including creating an exclusive overseas service.

·                           Any other statutory issue that the Committee may like to consider.

 

National Awards Presented for best Electoral Practices

Chief Election Commissioner, Shri V S Sampath congratulated the election machinery for the new enrolment of about 2.32 crore citizens in the recently concluded roll revision which included around 93 lakh newly eligible electors in the 18-19 yr age group. With this, he said, the country’s electorate now stands at 77.78 crore. He also pointed to the record turnout of voters particularly of women, in the recent general elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh through concerted efforts of all, including Central and State Govt departments, educational institutions, civil society, corporate sector and the media. Shri Sampath welcomed Olympics medallists Ms Saina Nehwal and Ms Mary Kom as the Commission’s new national icons on voter participation.

Speaking at the function, Dr Ashwini Kumar, Minister of Law and Justice pointed out that voter participation is the key in electoral democracy and lauded the Election Commission for paying serious attention to this. He underlined ECI’s role in reinforcing Indian democracy also for setting an example in the whole world. He assured the Commission all support necessary for management of elections particularly in the area of electoral reforms.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, Election Commissioner Shri H S Brahma said that the NVD is now the flagship programme of the Election Commission of India not only in terms of the large-scale empowerment of citizens through enrolment but also for the country-wide undertaken for spreading voter education and awareness.

Introducing the National Awards, Election Commissioner Dr Nasim Zaidi, said that the objective of the awards was to encourage innovation, efficiency and contribution in the exclusive field of election management.

25^th January is also the foundation day of the Commission, which came into being on this day in 1950. The Commission’s objective through NVD is to increase enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones, to make universal adult suffrage a complete reality. The National Voters’ Day is also utilized to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.  

NATIONAL AWARDS 2012

A. NATIONAL AWARDS FOR BEST ELECTORAL PRACTICES

First Award jointly to Ms Kamini Chauhan Ratan, DEO Bulandshahr, UP and Shri Surendra Singh, DEO Firozabad, UP

Second Award jointly to Ms Avantika Aulakh, DEO Bharuch, Gujarat & Shri Pravin Bakshi, DEO West Garo Hills, Meghalaya

Third Award jointly to Ms Jayshri Kiyawat, DEO Jhabua, MP & Shri Ram Krishna Bhardwaj, SP Barabanki, UP

Special Award to Shri Ajit K Shrivastava, Addl Commissioner of Income Tax, Ranchi, Jharkhand

Best State Award to Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; Chief Electoral officers to receive the Award

B. NATIONAL MEDIA AWARDS

National Media Award for the Campaign on Voters’ Education and Awareness to Zee News

Special Media Award for the Campaign on Voters’ Education and Awareness to Amar Ujala

National Communal Harmony Award 2012

 

The Foundation for Amity & National Solidarity, Delhi has been selected for the National Communal Harmony Award for the year 2012 by the Jury headed by the Vice-President of India.

Formed in 1984, the Foundation for Amity & National Solidarity (FANS) is a Delhi based Trust which works for spreading amity and communal harmony. It has organized numerous seminars, workshops, symposiums, inter-religious meets, youth camps, sadbhavana sabhas and rallies to promote social amity. The Foundation has instituted 'National Amity Award', which is given every year to an eminent personality. A serial 'Yeh Gulistan Hamara' produced by the Foundation on national integration was telecast on Doordarshan. It has awarded numerous scholarships under its Amity Scholarship Scheme to promote education amongst the economically backward students. It has extensively contributed for promoting solidarity and communal harmony.

The National Communal Harmony Awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organization set up by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, for promoting communal harmony and national integration. The ward has been instituted with a view to demonstrating due appreciation and recognition of the efforts of individuals and organisations for promotion of communal harmony and national integration in a sustained manner over a sufficiently long period of time. In addition to a citation, the award carries a cash prize of Rupees five lakh for the Organisation.

President’s Police and Correctional Medals Announced

 On the occasion of the Republic Day this year 875 personnel have been awarded police medals- President’s Police Medals for Gallantry (PPMG) to 01, Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG)  to 115 personnel, President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service to 88 and Police Medals for Meritorious Service to 671 personnel.

37 personnel have been awarded Correctional Service Medals -  President’s Correctional Service Medals for Distinguished  Service  to 05,  Correctional Service Medals for Meritorious Service to 29 and President’s Correctional Service Medal for Gallantry to 03 persons.

Elections to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituencies.

The term of office of six members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituencies is to expire on 29^th March, 2013 due to the retirement of the sitting members as detailed below:-

S.No.	Name of Constituency	Name of Member
1.	East-West Godavari Graduates’ Constituency	Katcha George Victor
2.	Krishna-Guntur Graduates’ Constituency	Chigurupati Vara Prasad
3.	Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar Graduates’ Constituency	Naradasu Laxman Rao
4.	Srikakulam-Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam Teachers’ Constituency	Gade Srinivasulu Naidu
5.	Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar Teachers’ Constituency	B. Mohan Reddy
6.	Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Teachers’ Constituency	Chukka Ramaiah

 

2.           The Election Commission has decided to conduct a biennial election to fill up the above mentioned vacancies in accordance with the following programme:-

1.	Issue of Notification	:	28th January, 2013 (Monday)
2.	Last date of making nominations	:	4th February, 2013 (Monday)
3.	Scrutiny of nominations	:	5th February, 2013 (Tuesday)
4.	Last date for withdrawal of candidatures	:	7th February, 2013 (Thursday)
5.	Date of Poll	:	21th February, 2013 (Thursday)
6.	Hours of Poll		8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
7.	Counting of votes	:	25th February, 2013 (Monday) at 8:00 A.M
8.	Date before which election shall be completed	:	27th February, 2013 (Wednesday)

             

The Model Code of Conduct will come into force with immediate effect in the district(s) in which the above Constituencies are comprised.

Railways Launches Toll Free Helpline Number for Catering Related Complaints

The Ministry of Railways has set up a central monitoring cell with the toll free number 1800-111-321 for the  railway users to register their complaints regarding railways’ catering services like food quality,  rates ,both at railway stations and in running trains.This facility is available all seven days from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M .

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Seeks Recommendations of TRAI for Further Reforms in the Cable Tv Sector

The Ministry of I&B has sought the recommendations of TRAI regarding issues relating to transmission of local channels or ground based channels operated at the level of cable TV operator/MSOs. In its reference to TRAI, the Ministry has sought to know whether there was a need to put in place a comprehensive set of provisions for local channels which would cover issues related to registration mechanism, including eligibility requirements, fee, terms and conditions to be provided for such channels, including the definition of local or ground based channels and their area of operation.

In the said reference to TRAI, Ministry has also sought its views with regard to the issue of transmission of local channels at local cable operator level in Digital Addressable System (DAS) regime. TRAI in its recommendations dated 25th July, 2008 had, inter-alia, recommended that Local Channel Operators (LCOs) shall be permitted to transmit their ground based channels. However, in the current DAS regime only digital addressable signals can be carried out on the cable network which is generated at the MSO head end. The Ministry in its reference has also requested TRAI to state whether there was a case for putting a cap on the total number of ground based channels operated by a single MSO/cable operator.

TRAI has also been requested to examine whether there was a need to prescribe separate eligibility criteria for cable operators transmitting local news and current affairs channels at their level. Specific recommendations have been sought with regard to eligibility criteria, terms and conditions including foreign investment levels, net-worth criteria and requirement of security clearance etc. for such channels.

The need for putting in places a regulatory framework for local channels being operated at the level of Cable TV operators has been engaging attention of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for quite some time. This has assumed a greater significance in view of the digitization of cable TV sector being implemented in the entire country in a phased time bound manner. Presently, Cable TV operators/MSOs are transmitting local news, videos and other locally developed content as a separate televisions channels in addition to satellite TV channels obtained from broadcasters. These channels, popularly known as local channels, are presently not subject to a regulatory framework unlike private satellite TV channels permitted under the uplinking/downlinking guidelines of the Ministry. As a result, local channels continue to mushroom all over the country without having registration /license.

Since the area/jurisdiction within which the programme generated at the level of cable operators can be transmitted has not been defined in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, it is possible for Local Cable Operators (LCOs)/Multi System Operators (MSOs) operating at the local levels to broadcast local channels over a larger geographical area i.e at Regional/State/National level by transmitting the same content over their entire network. Instances have been brought to the notice of the Ministry that some cable operators are also venturing into transmission of local channels over wider geographical area which includes inter-state and intra state transmission by sharing the same content with others on their network. In such a scenario, local channels are basically operating as State/Regional/National channels like permitted private satellite TV channels without getting any permission. The intent of allowing cable operators to generate and transmit local programme is to keep the local people informed of relevant local issues. However this intent is not fulfilled when LCOs and MSOs start networking of the content to cover a larger geographical area. Given the present state of technological advancement, the tendency to network content at a larger geographical area has gained strength.

President’s Rule in Jharkhand

The President has today proclaimed the imposition of President’s Rule in Jharkhand under Article 356(1) of the Constitution.

The Union Cabinet in it’s meeting held on January 17, 2013 approved the proposal to issue a Proclamation imposing President’s Rule in the state of Jharkhand, keeping the State Legislative Assembly under suspended animation.

Shri Vijay Kumar former Director General CRPF and Shri Madhukar Gupta former Home Secretary have been appointed as Advisors to the Governor of Jharkhand.

Increase Railway passenger Fare

The Ministry of Railways has now issued circular giving details of its decision to revise Passenger Fares w.e.f. 22.01.2013.  Details of the fare revision are as under:-

S.N.	Class	Increase in Fare per Passenger Kilo Meter (PKM)	Minimum distance for charge
i	Second Class Ordinary (Suburban)	02 paise	No change (existing – 10 Kms)
ii	Second Class Ordinary (Non-Suburban)	03 paise	No change (existing – 10 Kms)
iii	Second Class	04 paise	50 kms
iv	Sleeper Class	06 paise	No change (existing – 200 Kms)
v	AC Chair Car	10 paise	150 kms
vi	AC 3-Tier	10 paise	300 kms
vii	First Class	03 paise	No change (existing – 100 Kms)
viii	AC 2 - Tier	06 paise	No change (existing – 300 Kms)
ix	AC First Class	10 paise	No change (existing – 300 Kms)

2.      Minimum Fare: The Minimum fare chargeable will be Rs. 5.

3.      Development Charge: On the revised basic fares which shall become effective from 22.01.2013, development charge shall not be leviable.

4.      Rounding off of Fares:

(i)                 Fares of all classes except Second Class Ordinary (Suburban):- Chargeable Fares, as obtained after adding Miscellaneous Charges like Reservation Fee, Supplementary charge for Superfast trains, Catering Charge, Service Tax etc. To the Basic Fare, will be rounded off to the next higher multiple of Rs. 5.

(ii)              Second Class (Suburban) Fares:- Chargeable Fares for Second Class Suburban passengers as obtained after adding applicable miscellaneous charges like MUTP Surcharge etc. (as and where application) TO THE Basic Fare, will be rounded off to the next higher multiple of five rupees, except that in cases where  either ‘1’ or ‘6’ comes up as the last digit (i.e. in unit’s place) it will be rounded off to the immediately lower multiple of Rs. 5, i.e. Rs. 11.00, Rs. 21.00, Rs. 31.00 etc. would respectively become Rs. 10.00, Rs. 20.00, Rs. 30.00 etc. and Rs. 6.00, Rs. 16.00, Rs. 26.00 etc. would respectively become Rs. 5.00, Rs. 15.00 and Rs. 25.00 etc. and Fare values ending in Rs. 2, Rs. 3 or Rs. 4 would be getting rounded off to Rs. 5 and those ending in Rs. 7, Rs. 8, or Rs. 9 to Rs. 10 and so on and so forth.

5.       It is also decided that the existing fares of train services like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi, Duronto, Rajya Rani and Yuva Expresses will similarly be revised to the extent of the proposed increase in class-wise fares.

6.       As per earlier circular of Railway Board dated 26.12.2012, as a special case to facilitate the passengers of Muhakumbh Mela it has been decided if any passenger purchases an unreserved reverse ticket through UTS from any station on Indian Railways for journey to any one of the 12 stations in Allabhbad region serving Mahakumbh Mela and back the reverse ticket will be allowed to be booked upto 15 days in advance excluding the day of journey subject to levy of Mela Surcharge as per extant instructions.  In this case also the difference of fare will be collected on board in the trains in case tickets are booked in advance and before 22.01.2013 in respect of above.

7.       Other Charges:- There is no change in charges for reservation fee etc. Such charges, wherever applicable, which shall continue to be levied additionally.   However, the second class superfast Surcharge shall be rounded off to Rs. 10/-.

8.       The changes in fares as above shall come into force w.e.f. 22.01.2013.

9.       Service tax will be levied as applicable as per instructions issued in this regard.

10.     Instructions issued earlier that in the case of Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Jan Shatabdi/Duronto Express trains, the concession wherever admissible and in child fare also, it will be granted only in the basic fares and that all other charges (Catering, Reservation Supplementary charges like Superfast Surcharge, Enhanced Charges, Service Tax (if any) etc.) shall be collected in full.  This will be applicable from 01.04.2013

11.     The revised fares will also apply to tickets issued in advance for journeys to commence on or after 22.01.2013.  Until new tickets are printed, old printed card tickets will be issued after having necessary corrections in fares made on them in advance.  Such alterations by the staff would be made preferably by stamp or in ink. 

12.     In the case of tickets already issued at pre-revised rates, it should be ensured that the difference in fares and other charges on or after 22.01.2013 will be recovered either by TTEs on the trains or by the Booking/Reservation Offices before the commencement of journey by passengers. 

The detailed revised passenger fare table effective from 22.1.2013 is available on the  Ministry of Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in.