I&B Ministry
Government rejects dismantling of autonomous Prasar Bharati
NEW DELHI: A section of the government today ruled out dismantling of the autonomous Prasar Bharati as has been demanded by the organisation’s employees’ union.
Though information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy today refused to comment on the demand of the union, but sources in the ministry indicated that such ludicrous demands would not be entertained.
“There would be no rollback of Prasar Bharati,” a senior official of the I&B ministry said, adding that some of the demands of the employees’ union are being looked into.
Prasar Bharati, which manages Doordarshan and All India Radio, was formally given shape by Reddy only when he was the I&B minister in the United Front government in the late 1990s.
Employees of Prasar Bharati had demanded an immediate repeal of the Prasar Bharati Act as it was “totally unviable” in the present form and exhorted the government to take them back into government fold (with privileges that come attached with a government service, of course).
Members of the National Federation of Akashvani and Doordarshan Employees (NFADE) met the Prime Minister on 13 August with its demands. Later, the union claimed that assurances of setting up a group of ministers (GoM) were given by the PM.
According to NFADE chairman Robin Dasgupta, the government could not disown the employees of Prasar Bharati.
He also suggested that Prasar Bharati should be made into a constitutional body like the Supreme Court and Election Commission as it would ensure financial support to the body from the Consolidated Fund of India.
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.
