Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Navneet Kumar Sehgal has been appointed as the Chairman of Prasar Bharati for a term of three years or until he turns 70, whichever comes first, succeeding Surya Prakash.
According to an order from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 read with sub-section (4) of Section 4 and sub-section (1) of Section 6 of that Act, the President, on the recommendation of the Selection Committee, is pleased to appoint Navneet Kumar Sehgal, IAS (retd.) as the Chairman of Prasar Bharati Board with effect from the date of his assuming charge of the post for a term of three years or until he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.”
Navneet Kumar Sehgal is a retired IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
In a separate development, the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Prasar Bharati, the national public service broadcaster, and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
This collaboration aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision of leveraging digital innovation to empower rural India. USOF has been instrumental in providing high-speed broadband and mobile connections to Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages across the country.
Under this MoU, USOF will ensure efficient and high-speed broadband services in rural and remote areas, while Prasar Bharati will offer bundled OTT services, including linear channels, Live TV, and on-demand content, to end consumers.