Ravi Capoor appointed CEO of SANSAD TV

The presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament have set the ball rolling for merger of Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV into a single entity, SANSAD TV, by appointing retired IAS officer Ravi Capoor as its CEO for one year.

According to a circular issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Capoor has been appointed from March 1 for a period of one year.

"Consequent upon the joint declaration of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker to merge RSTV and LSTV into Sansad Television (SANSAD TV), Ravi Capoor has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, SANSAD TV, on contract basis, for a period of one year with immediate effect,” the circular reads.

Sources said though the channels are being integrated into one single entity it will function on two platforms -- one to telecast live proceedings of Lok Sabha and the other of Rajya Sabha.

They said that during the inter-session period, the two platforms will telecast almost similar content but in different languages -- Hindi and English.

The integration of two channels will lead to some savings and may result in the retrenchment of a few employees, they said.

In November 2019, after deliberations between Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, a committee headed by former Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash was formed for the integration of the two channels.

The committee had submitted its report last year.