New Delhi: Former journalist and author A. Surya Prakash has been appointed as the chairman of the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati for a second term. Prasar Bharati runs Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Prakash, who has been at the helm of Prasar Bharati for three years since 2014, retired in October. In an order by the Information and Broadcasting ministry (I&B) dated Dec. 1, Prakash’s reappointment (for a period of a little over two years till February 2020) was approved by a three-member committee headed by the vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Prakash, a columnist and a fellow at the Vivekananda Foundation, has held key positions in several print and electronic media organisation. He has previously worked as the editor of ‘Zee News’, executive editor of ‘The Pioneer’ newspaper, India editor of ‘Asia Times’, political editor of the ‘Eenadu Group’ of newspapers and chief of bureau at ‘The Indian Express’ in New Delhi.

Prakash’s appointment comes at a time when the public broadcaster is undergoing a complete revamp in a bid to revive its finances and viewership. Prasar Bharati had recently announced its plans to put the broadcaster at par with BBC and Al Jazeera with the launch of a global digital platform by year-end.