Prasar Bharti building at Mandi House, New Delhi. The post of Rajya Sabha TV’s editor-in-chief has been vacant since August 2017 when Gurdeep Singh Sappal stepped down from the position. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint
New Delhi: Television journalist Rahul Mahajan has been appointed as editor-in-chief of the television channel Rajya Sabha TV.
Mahajan’s name was recommended by a five-member selection committee headed by Prasar Bharti chairman A. Surya Prakash and was approved by the vice-president of India M.Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the chairman of Rajya Sabha, on Sunday.
The committee also included Swapan Dasgupta, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, P.P.K. Ramacharyulu and Rahul Srivastava. Founded in 2008, Rajya Sabha TV is owned and operated by Rajya Sabha and covers the proceedings of the upper house of the Parliament.
The post of Rajya Sabha TV’s editor-in-chief has been vacant since August 2017 when Gurdeep Singh Sappal, who was also the chief executive officer of the channel, stepped down from the position.
While Mahajan will assume the responsibility of editor-in-chief of RSTV, the chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati will continue his additional role as the CEO of the channel. Vempati was given the responsibility of Rajya Sabha TV in August 2017.
The 46-year-old Mahajan has 26 years of experience in media. Mahajan has worked for news channels like Zee News, Aaj Tak, Star News, News 24 in various capacities and is currently serving as a consultant editor at Prasar Bharati. He has more than 12 years of experience covering Parliament proceedings.
Mahajan’s appointment comes at a time when government is eyeing a clean up and expansion of Rajya Sabha TV. Last year, Naidu had called for a comprehensive performance and expenditure audit of the channel and also suggested a system for feedback and evaluation of content aired, in a bid to expand the reach of Rajya Sabha TV.
Over the years, Rajya Sabha TV has drawn criticism from the government for overspending public money as well as for not giving appropriate publicity to National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s events and schemes.
