With this one decision, the board has managed to bail out Mahajan who was attacked in Parliament for trying to edge out the DD Metro daily news bulletin for being too independent-minded. The decision conforms to Mahajan's statement that DD should have a "uniform news policy" and leaves a big question over the fate of Khas Khabar, a privately-produced news bulletin on Calcutta Doordarshan that was cleared by former Prasar Bharati CEO Surrindar Singh Gill.

The Prasar Bharati board has retained the 10 pm slot given to TV Today, the makers of Aaj Tak, which recently celebrated 1,000 episodes, as also its telecast fee of Rs 1.5 lakh every day. But sources in TV Today were doubtful whether Aaj Tak would beviable - financially and journalistically - as a current affairs programme. Sources said it would circumscribe their independence. At a marathon six-hour meeting, the board members also decided to chalk out a strategy to raise the issue of Prasar Bharati's autonomy with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on Saturday.