The process of the merger of the Rajya Sabha TV and the Lok Sabha TV into Sansad TV with two variants is in the final stages. The live proceedings of the Parliament sessions will continue to be telecast. The manpower and technical resources will also be integrated.
Sources said the launch could be by the end of the year, though the deadline has not been finalised.
The LS Television was launched in 2006 and the RS TV in 2011. They have been functioning independently since then.
In November last year, after discussions between Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, a committee headed by former Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash was set up. The committee submitted it’s report in February. Three different sub-committees are examining the report to finalise the integration of technical and manpower resources.
The Surya Prakash committee had also held a meeting with the MPs from various political parties who strongly recommended that the live telecast should be continued.
Under the banner of the Sansad TV, sources said, the two will continue to telecast live proceedings of the respective Houses.
“During the inter-session period and beyond the working hours of Parliament, both the variants continue to telecast common content to a large extent. The LSTV platform would telecast the programme in Hindi while the RSTV platform would do so in English. The two language variants it was felt enables better branding and increased viewership,” an official said.
The attempt is to go beyond the proceedings of the two Houses and show the functioning of Parliament and parliamentarians when the Houses are not in session.
Sources said the new channel will work under an integrated management. The Rajya Sabha TV now comes under the control of the Chairman and the Lok Sabha TV under the Speaker. “The details are still being worked out who will the integrated channel comes under. But it is not a sticking point. Once the technical issues are sorted this too will be clear,” an official said.