It seems Prasar Bharati suddenly awoke from slumber and decided to join the nation in celebrating the birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh on September 28. Doordarshan had with it an in-house documentary on Singh produced by Raj Shekhar Vyas, which it decided to telecast. The file thus started moving from the commercial department up to the Director General, Doordarshan and Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati.
In the exercise, considerations pertaining to revenue prevailed when it came to selecting the slot. September 28 was a Friday– a day on which finding a good evening slot on the National channel is difficult. So a babu noted on the file that a good slot should be located “on the eve of the occasion”. Next, the revenue projections received from the Marketing Division, Mumbai for that day from 10 pm onwards were scanned. At 10 pm – prime time – the projection for Tu Tota Main Maina was Rs 7.5 lakh. At 10.30 pm, Aur Ek Kahani was expected to Yield Rs 3.5 lakh. At 11 pm, DD Top Ten was valued at Rs 1.5 lakh. The slot after this, in which the National Programme of Dance is telecast, was sans revenue.
Ultimately, the commemoration of Bhagat’s martyrdom was valued at Rs 1.5 lakh. The final noting said: “Considering all factors (revenue loss as well as convenience of viewers), 11 pm appears to be a good option for telecast of the documentary. The programme could be repeated next morning.
Sonia to the aid
of farmers
HOW not to plan for farmers is clearly on the agenda of the new breed of liberal economists – all educated in the US or England, and linked to either the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF). Naturally, there is little love lost between this breed and the members of the only instrument left with the Government to intervene in the interest of farmers, the Commission for Agriculture Cost Prices (CACP). In July this year, the CACP recommended Rs 1,000 per quintal as the MSP for wheat – an increase of Rs 250 over the previous year’s price. The Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, immediately dismissed the recommendations. However, when the CACP refused to budge, he reluctantly forwarded it to the group of ministers.
The Secretary had no reply when told that the food security mission had a target of creating a buffer stock of eight million tonnes of wheat in the coming season and this could not be achieved unless the MSP was reasonably increased.
The group of ministers was also against any increase. Fortunately, the recommendations leaked to the media and pressure mounted from various farmers’ organizations. In the face of likely mid-term polls owing to the nuclear deal controversy, the chairperson of the ruling UPA, Sonia Gandhi, intervened and the recommendations were accepted.
Meanwhile, a demand to scrap the CACP has already been made at various public fora by none other than Isher Judge Ahluwalia, a former IMF staffer and wife of the all powerful Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
Mani’s querulous
women officers
MANIShankar Aiyar is known for his views on women’s empowerment since his days as an IFS officer Ask any Congress worker, and chances are he or she will come up with a story or two to illustrate Aiyar’s Commitment to this cause. After becoming Minister for Panchayati Raj, he found the right platform to further the cause. Be it formation of various committees within the ministry or overseas tours, Aiyar has always personally intervened to ensure adequate but qualitative women’s representation. Now, a tussle between two senior women IAS officers in the ministry has become a major problem.
The acrimony between Secretary Meenakshi Datta Ghosh and Joint Secretary Aditi Mehta has become a routine matter in the ministry. The moment the two came face to face, they Would quarrel. Datta Ghosh would scream at the junior officer for not greeting her and Mehta would deny the charge with a similar outburst. The corridor became a battle arena and the staff hapless spectators.
This scene was witnessed several times a day, so much so that the ministry’s work suffered. Now, Mehta has gone on leave till November 30, the day Datta Ghosh retires Each expects Aiyar to take her side. However, the minister has a temporary reprieve as he has been advised rest after suffering chest pains recently.
