Prasar Bharati is planning to merge regional news units (RNUs) of All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan Kendras (DDKs) in the 12th year Plan.

In an interactive meeting with senior officials of AIR and Doordarshan Kendras of Odisha in Bhubaneswar today, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati, Jawhar Sarkar said this move will not only make Prasar Bharati more compact but help in managing the news set-up more professionally.

He also discussed with the officials on improving qualities of programmes and news bulletins to face challenges from private news channels.

During the discussion, Mr Sarkar focussed on upgradation of terrestrial transmission in the state. He informed that the AIR Sambalpur RNU in the state will commence its news bulletins as soon as the engineering personnel complete procurement of required machineries.

The Prasar Bharati CEO advised the programme personnel to focus more on programmes in local dialects of Odisha like Santhali and Sambalpuri. Director General (News) of AIR, Giridhari Mohanty was present during the interactive meeting.