I&B Ministry
Eleven categories of Prasar Bharati employees in employment in February 1999 got upgraded payscales: Rathore
NEW DELHI: The Government had granted upgraded pay scales to 11 categories of the then existing employees of Prasar Bharati pertaining to Engineering and Programme Cadres on 25 February 1999.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcastng Rajyavardhan Rathore told Parliament that Prasar Bharati has granted upgraded pay scales to 484 employees of subordinate Engineering and Programme cadres who had joined Prasar Bharati after 25 February 1999 following Court orders.
Answerng a question, he said the decision on the proposal received from Directorate General of All India Radio has been linked to the Speaking Order dated 9 December 2014, issued by the Ministry towards implementation of an Order dated 10 November 2014 of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam Bench, in a Contempt Petition filed by Federation of Doordarshan Core Professionals (FDCP) who were seeking upgraded pay scales as were granted to 11 categories of employees vide order dated 25 February1999.
But he said the matter was sub judice as the order of 9 December 2014 had been challenged by the employees associated with FDCP in a fresh OA before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam Bench.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
