I&B likely to get 25% more in Plan outlay

The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) may get a 25% hike in the Plan outlay in the forthcoming Budget to ensure that public broadcaster Prasar Bharati undertakes the broadcast coverage of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 and sets up an international media centre.

The amount will be a little over Rs 1,000 crore compared to 2009-10 allocation of Rs 800 crore.

However, this is around 55% less than the ministry?s expectations of around Rs 1,600 crore.

?Some ministries are getting priority over others and I&B ministry may get less than what it has asked for. However, there is no final decision has been taken and talks are on with various ministries,? a senior government official said.

The outlay of the I&B ministry for the 2010-2011 fiscal may go up only by around 10-15% over the allocation of Rs 2,568 crore made in the 2009-10 Budget, sources said. The Budget for this fiscal saw a 34% increase in the outlay of the ministry over the 2008-09 figure of Rs 1,910 crore.

According to government officials, the Planning Commission is likely to recommend a plan outlay of Rs 1,016 crore for I&B ministry in the forthcoming Budget, up from Rs 800 crore allocated for 2009-10 in the Budget estimates. However, this is less than the ministry?s expectation of Rs 1,638 crore for 2010-2011 fiscal.

The increase in plan outlay is likely to go to Prasar Bharati to undertake modernisation of its technical infrastructure as well as towards the coverage of CWG 2010 in expensive High Definition (HDTV) format as per the telecast requirements of the games. The forthcoming Budget is likely to make an increased allocation in the I&B ministry?s investments in public enterprises like the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Prasar Bharati.

The ministry?s investments in Prasar Bharati, including grants-in-aid and loans, have seen a sharp upswing in the past three fiscals. In 2007-08, of Rs 400-crore plan allocation, around Rs 270 crore went to Prasar Bharati accounting for nearly 60% of the plan outlays. In 2008-09, the figure moved up to 65% with Prasar Bharati getting Rs 393 crore of the Rs 600 crore and in the Interim Budget for 2009-2010, the loans and grants to Prasar Bharati accounted for 78% of the total plan outlay for the ministry. This may further go up in 2010-2012, official sources indicated.