I&B Ministry undecided on staff reduction

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 28. Even as the July 31 deadline for implementing the recommendations of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) draws nigh, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that the Ministry had not taken any decision on the Government's ``instruction'' to downsize its staff strength. This is in keeping with the I&B Minister's stated position that she was in favour of right-sizing instead of down- sizing. In fact, the general opinion within the Ministry is in favour of right-sizing. And, this has been communicated to the Finance Ministry by the I&B Ministry in its response to the recommendations of the ERC set up under the chairmanship of Mr. K.P. Geethakrishnan.

Apparently, the I&B Ministry is rather upset with the manner in which the Geethakrishnan Commission carried out its examination of the various media units; particularly the fact that the review was done without consulting the media heads. Of the view that the Commission's recommendations vis-a-vis some media units reflected a lack of understanding of their functioning and significance, the I&B Ministry, it is learnt, has conveyed this viewpoint to the Finance Ministry.

The ERC had suggested that seven media units within the I&B Ministry be either wound up or handed over to private players. As per the suggestions of the ERC, Films Division, Children's Films Society, Directorate of Film Festivals, Photo Division, Directorate of Field Publicity, Publications Division, and Song and Drama Division should be wound up.

While the Ministry was against shutting down any of these media units, a reorganisation is being considered to rationalise its functioning. To do so, the Ministry is considering a merger of the Song and Drama Division, the Directorate of Field Publicity and the Exhibition Wing of the Directorate of Audio-Visual Publicity with the mandate to concentrate on rural, border and inaccessible areas.

As for Photo Division, it is being suggested that it be merged with the Press Information Bureau and its technical staff cut by half from the existing 61 to 30 in due course. In the case of Films Division, while the I&B Ministry is said to have conceded the need to reorient and redefine its objectives, immediate closure is being ruled out.

Meanwhile, even as Geethakrishnan Commission recommendations agitate those working in the I&B Ministry, the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) is all for the ERC report. In fact, CMS goes a step ahead and calls for the winding up of the I&B Ministry in view of the convergence era.

But for now CMS argues that the Ministry could save Rs. 1,000 crores annually by closing down redundant divisions under its charge. The CMS conducted an analysis on the performance of many of the media units within the I&B Ministry and found most of them redundant.

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