Former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been appointed as a professional director on the board of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India.

Vempati, co-founder of DeepTech for Bharat Foundation, brings a wealth of experience from his extensive career in various government and academic roles.

Vempati’s appointment to BARC is seen as a significant step, given his broad expertise and leadership in media and technology sectors. His current roles include chairing the Science and Technology Communication Apex Advisory Committee, advising the National Council for Science Technology Communication under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Additionally, he has served as the Chairperson of the External Experts Group at the University Grants Commission of India.

An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Vempati began his professional journey at Infosys Technologies, where he gained substantial experience in the tech industry.

While helming Prasar Bharati, Vempati had been chairman of a committee, set up by the then government in 2021, to study the functioning of BARC India and come up with suggestions for an overhaul.

According to a then Times of India report, the Vempati committee findings emphasized the need to look at “technological solutions” that universalise samples and capture the diversity and scale of TV viewing in India. This would include taking into account people who watch TV on mobile, which the report said is used by a large number of viewers to access TV content.