Prasar Bharati launches major recruitment drive

To meet the shortage of skilled personnel in key vacant positions, national broadcaster Prasar Bharati said it had launched a major recruitment drive in the first such exercise in fifteen years. Efforts are being made to improve the situation by taking steps such as setting up of the Recruitment Board, finalisation of recruitment regulations and filling the vacant posts, a statement released by Prasar Bharati said in New Delhi on Thursday. With these efforts made during the last one year, proposals for setting up of Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board and finalisation of recruitment regulations have been pushed through and are in the final stage of approval, the statement added. Prasar Bharati said 3,452 posts, which were identified as critical and approved by a Group of Ministers as far back as June, 2009 are now being filled up. "1150 posts have already been cleared and proposal for clearance of the balance posts is under active consideration of the Department of Expenditure," Prasar Bharati said. Approval has also been accorded to recruitment of Group B and C posts through Staff Selection Commission pending setting up of Recruitment Board, it said. Advertisement for 3023 posts in various categories (PEXs, TREXs, Production Assistants, Cameraman Grade II, Engineering Assistants, Technicians, Head clerks/ Assistants) have been released, it added. "This is the first major recruitment in Prasar Bharati in 15 years," the statement said. Prasar Bharati also said that to expedite Departmental Promotions, a high-power committee has been constituted to scrutinise Departmental Promotion Committee's proposals before these are referred to the government so that the proposals are flawless and delay on account of cross references is avoided. "Efforts are also being made to reduce stagnation to the extent possible by giving in-situ promotions, adhoc promotions as well as current duty charge of higher posts. Wherever courts have given stay on holding DPCs, concerted efforts are being made to get the stay vacated in the interest of the employees," the Prasar Bharati statement said on Thursday. It added the vexed problems of casual artists, assignees and workers with temporary status had been attended to. "Casual assignees would be benefitted by an enabling provision of relaxation of age to the extent of approved service rendered in the relevant post," the statement said. "For regulating the system of appointments on compassionate ground to a dependent family member of an employee who dies in harness and leaves his family in financial distress, a Standard Operating Procedue has been developed for bringing in objectivity and transparency," it added.