Navneet Kumar Sehgal resigns as chairperson, Prasar Bharati Board amid speculations

Navneet Sehgal, the retired UP IAS officer of 1988 batch who hired Sudhir Chaudhary for ₹15 crores submitted his resignation as chairperson of the Prasar Bharati Board. The Union information and broadcasting ministry accepted his resignation on December 3. He tendered his resignation on December 2, 2025. 

The abrupt resignation "has set off a wave of speculation in official circles, particularly since no reason has been made public. Within government corridors, some insiders hint that the resignation may not have been entirely voluntary." 

Sehgal was appointed for a three-year term or until he turned 70. 

Prasar Bharti runs Doordarshan broadcasting service and Akashvani radio service among other He was appointed to this post in March 2024. Unlike him, his predecessor A Surya Prakash, completed his term in February 2020. Sehgal was appointed three-years after the departure of Surya Prakash. 

Unlike Surya Prakash, Sehgal had no experience in media. He was chosen by a three-member selection committee headed by then Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, along with Press Council of India chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai and a presidential nominee. 

Sehgal had altered DD News during his brief tenure and outsourced shows DD. He was reportedly close to a business tycoon. 

Will Surya Prakash (75), the author of What Ails Indian Parliament or Ram Bahadur Rai (79), the author of Bharatiya Samvidhan: Ankahi Kahani be asked to suggest a suitable candidate to head Prasar Bharati Board in order to restore the autonomy of the Board? Or will there be yet another three-year vacancy?