Prasar Bharati rejects I&B ministry's proposal of hiring 2 top journalists

The Prasar Bharati Board rejected on Thursday proposed appointments of journalists Abhijit Majumder and Siddharth Zarabi as head of TV News, DD News, and Chief Editor, Prasar Bharati News Service, respectively.

Three to four times the normal compensation paid for the posts recommended by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for their appointments became the reason for the rejection, DNA has learnt.

"The names had come from the Ministry... while the Board did not disagree that they are good journalists, it could not agree on paying the high compensation to them," a Prasar Bharati official said.

"The maximum that a person is paid for these positions is Rs 25 lakh per annum, but the Ministry had recommended Rs 75 lakh per annum and Rs 1 crore per annum, something Prasar Bharati could not afford," the official said.

Zarabi is currently Executive Editor of Business TV India, while Majumder is Managing Editor of Mail Today newspaper.