Plans afoot to set up Rajya Sabha TV

"We are in the process of setting up a Rajya Sabha TV. Preliminary work on the project is going on. Right now, we are in the process of finalising the project report", Rajya Sabha Secretary General V K Agnihotri said.

He said the project cost is estimated around Rs 25 crore and it would get going once the Chief Executive Officer is appointed and an Advisory Committee is in place. The Committee would advise the Chairman on the running of the channel.

The proposed channel and the Lok Sabha TV would be complementing each other by sharing content, he said but did not give a definite date by which the new channel would become operational.

At present, Doordarshan Rajya Sabha airs the proceedings of the Upper House. The Lok Sabha TV and Doordarshan Rajya Sabha are 'must carry' channels for cable as well as DTH operators.

Lok Sabha TV (LSTV), a 24-hour TV channel broadcasting in Hindi and English, came into being in 2006 replacing the DD Lok Sabha channel. Earlier in 2004, with efforts of the Lok Sabha and Prasar Bharati, two dedicated satellite channels were set up to telecast live the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament.

The LSTV is owned and operated entirely by Lok Sabha itself, broadcasting live the proceedings of Lok Sabha and also various cultural and educational programs and panel discussions, when the House is not in session.

Select Parliamentary proceedings have been telecast in India since 1989, when the President's address to Parliament was shown on live television.

After 1994, the Question Hours of both Houses were broadcast live on alternate weeks on both satellite television and All India Radio. The broadcasts were scheduled to ensure that on a given week proceedings in both Houses were aired, one on TV and the other on radio.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has taken a number of innovative steps to streamline the functioning of the Upper House which included a 'time clock' to ensure maximum business in minimum possible time. He has also restricted members to raise their mentions only for three minutes during Zero Hour.