Venkaiah Naidu seeks professional, expenditure audit of Rajya Sabha TV

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday sought a professional and expenditure audit of the Rajya Sabha TV as he pitched for framing an action plan to expand the channel's reach, a source said.

The Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) is owned and operated by the upper house of Parliament. Naidu is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. During a one-and-a-half-hour-long review of the Rajya Sabha TV, Naidu made queries regarding reach of the channel, manpower utilisation, expenditure under various heads, mandate of the channel and its content, the source said. "He directed that a comprehensive professional and expenditure audit may be undertaken," the source added.

The vice president also suggested that RSTV should be able to quantify the reach of the channel (viewership), besides having systems for feedback on and evaluation of the content. Naidu also called for efforts to expand RSTV's reach with a clear plan of action, the source said. He also suggested exploring the possibility of a synergy with Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR), through sharing of content. Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma, Prasar Bharati CEO and RSTV Acting CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati and senior professionals of RSTV attended the review meeting.