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NEW DELHI: Even as the grant-in-aid to Prasar Bharati in
the budgetary allocations for the Information and Broadcasting
Ministry for 2007-2008 has come down, there has been a more
than fourfold increase in the loans to the public broadcaster
over the current financial year.
The loan to Prasar Bharati has been fixed at Rs 2,174.4 million
as compared to Rs 411.1 million as sanctioned in the Revised
Estimates for 2006-07. The grant-in-aid has come down further,
from Rs 11,748.2 million in the Revised Estimates for 2006-7
(as compared to the Budgetary allocation of Rs 12,340.7 million)
to Rs 10,639.3 million. All this is apart from the investment
of Rs 2,174.4 million.
In keeping with a decision taken with the budget for 2000-01,
Prasar Bharati is being funded as a full-fledged autonomous
body with effect from April 2000. The grant-in-aid is to cover
the gap in resources of Prasar Bharati in meeting its revenue
expenditure, while the loans are to finance the capital expenditure.
The total budgetary allocation for the I&B Ministry for
2007-08 is Rs 16,818.4 million as compared to Rs 16,600 million
in the Revised Estimates for 2006-07 (as against a Budgetary
allocation of Rs 17,160 million in the Budget).
While there is no announcement of any new programmes, the Budget
document says the allocation of Rs 220.8 million for buildings
and machinery includes funds for the multi-storey building of
the Films Division in Mumbai, the Phase II building of the National
Film Archives of India in Pune, and a mini Media Centre of the
Press Information Bureau in Delhi. |
