Navneet Kumar Sehgal Steps Down as Prasar Bharati Chairman

Navneet Kumar Sehgal has resigned from his position as Chairman of Prasar Bharati, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting formally accepting his resignation on December 2 under Section 7(6) of the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990. As per official communication, he has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.An IAS officer of the 1988 Uttar Pradesh cadre, Sehgal was appointed Chairman of the national public service broadcaster on March 16, 2024. His departure marks an early conclusion to a tenure during which he was overseeing organisational restructuring and helping chart Prasar Bharati’s long-term strategic direction.

Over a distinguished government career spanning more than 35 years, Sehgal held several high-profile roles at both the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. He is widely known for leading large-scale infrastructure and policy initiatives, including his stint as Chairman and CEO of the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority, where he supervised the construction of the 302-kilometre Agra–Lucknow expressway within an accelerated timeline of 22 months.He also served as Principal Secretary for key departments such as Tourism and MSME. In tourism, he spearheaded multiple site development projects, while in MSME, he led the launch of the One District One Product (ODOP) programme, which went on to become one of Uttar Pradesh’s flagship initiatives.

Sehgal brought extensive experience in media management and public communication, having spent over 15 years handling government public relations in Uttar Pradesh. His roles included Secretary to the Chief Minister and Principal Secretary of the Information and Publicity Department, where he coordinated several communication campaigns focused on public awareness and development programmes.In the energy sector, he played a pivotal role in the privatisation of power distribution in Agra — the first such move in North India. He also contributed to planning close to 30,000 MW of power generation capacity for the state and oversaw the preparation of the Detailed Project Report for the Lucknow Metro by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

His portfolio includes major public–private partnership projects and international collaborations, such as the JICA-assisted water supply pipeline from Bulandshahr to Agra and securing a World Bank development loan for tourism infrastructure upgrades across the state.Sehgal retired from the IAS in July 2023 as Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh before assuming charge at Prasar Bharati the following year. The government is now expected to initiate the process of appointing his successor.