I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati to get budgetary support of over 10 billion
NEW DELHI: Contrary to expectations, the government has marginally increased its financial support to Prasar Bharati (translated in English as the Broadcasting Corporation of India), which is an indication that such support would continue for some time to come.
In the budgetary proposal for financial year 2005-06, the government grants-in-aid to Prasar Bharati stands at Rs 10.0961 billion, while last year the revised estimates for the same was Rs 10 billion.
The loan component, which is given to finance Prasar Bharati’s capital expenditure, has been raised quite sharply to Rs 1.75 billion in contrast to Rs 9.1 million last year.
The grants-in-aid to Prasar Bharati, which manages Doordarshan and All India Radio, is given by the government to cover the gap in resources of the organisation in meeting its revenue expenditure.
Meanwhile, the annual budgetary allocation for the information and broadcasting ministry has gone up marginally from Rs 15.14 million to Rs 16.03 million.
In the run-up to the making of the Budget, it had been reported that the government was proposing slashing the grants-in-aid to Prasar Bharati as it wants the organisation to generate revenue to try and bridge the gap between expenditure and earnings.
After taking over in May last, I&B minister Jaipal Reddy has been saying that Prasar Bharati should explore other avenues of raising revenue. The minister had also let loose a proposal to levy a one time cess of TV and radio sets in the country to fund Prasar Bharati. This idea has not gone down too well with some political parties as well as TV set manufacturers.
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.
