Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has suggested the setting up of a separate broadcasting authority to look into the techno-commercial aspects of the industry.

He also made categorically clear that the government has no intention to put in place a content regulator in the sector. Mr Tewari was speaking at the first meeting of the Expert Committee on Prasar Bharati at a function in New Delhi today.

He asked the Expert Committee members to debate whether the country needs a public broadcaster in the context of the fast changing technologies and increasing number of radio and television channels.

Chairman of the Expert Committee Sam Pitroda called for drastic restructuring of the Prasar Bharati Board to address the issues in view of changing needs of the time.

Stating that this is the proper time for innovative thinking, Mr Pitroda asked the Committee members to work on generational changes and not incremental changes.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Uday Kumar Verma suggested separation of the Direct to Home (DTH) functioning from Prasar Bharati Board by creating a Special Purpose Vehicle.

He also suggested that the transmission activities of the public broadcaster should be looked after by a specialised body.

Earlier, Prasar Bharati's Chairperson Mrinal Pande outlined the problems faced by the public service broadcaster in its day-to-day functioning.