NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer, Jawhar Sircar, is to address the FICCI FRAMES commencing in Mumbai next week on how the public broadcaster can earn revenue despite being a public broadcaster.

Sircar’s talk is on “India 2015: Role of the Public Service Broadcaster and Lessons from the World”.

The three day convention from 25 to 27 March will extensively cover discussions on various issues related to the media sector around the theme - How to make India a Global Entertainment Superpower.

According to Sircar, “There is no nation in the world that does not have a decent public broadcaster and some of them like BBC or NHK Japan or the Korean Broadcasting System are legends, mainly because their nations, people and their governments wanted them to be so and help them succeed. India cannot be an exception as it is the only public broadcaster who operates from the icy peaks of Kargil to our lonely borders in Arunachal, right down to Andaman and every possible corner of India: without ever looking at short-term commercial gains.”

This panel discussion is scheduled on Day 2 of the entertainment media conclave, and will be moderated by leading business journalist Pranjal Sharma featuring BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan, and Ayuna Badmaeva, Dy CEO of VGTRK, Russia’s largest media corporation and public broadcaster.

The other key participant is Javad Mottaghi, Secretary General of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), who is a special invitee at FICCI FRAMES 2015.

FICCI Secretary General A Didar Singh said, “The discussion would provide greater clarity on how to maximise the efforts of public service broadcasting, and also how institutions like Prasar Bharati can balance their programming mandate with effective revenue generation, and remain relevant in the ‘digital era’.”

The session will explore the relevance, importance and space for Public Service Broadcasting in today’s ‘always connected’ world which offers a multitude of choices by way of content, delivery platforms and engagement channels.