Chitra Bharucha
Encyclopedia
Chitra Bharucha MBE BS, FRCPath
, FRSA
, (born 6 April 1945) is a former consultant haematologist
and former vice chairman of the BBC Trust
, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Born in Madurai
, India
, she was educated at Ewart School, Madras and Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
, gaining her medical qualification before moving to the UK
in 1972. Between 1981 and 2000, she was consultant clinical haematologist at Belfast City Hospital
and was deputy director of the Northern Ireland
Blood Transfusion Service. She was elected to the General Medical Council
in 1999 where she served on a number of panels including chair of the Fitness to Practise Adjudication Panels.
In 1996 Bharucha moved into positions in the media industry, serving on the BBC Broadcasting Council for Northern Ireland until 1999. In April 2001 she was appointed Northern Ireland member of the Independent Television Commission
, where she served until December 2003 when the ITC was subsumed into Ofcom
, and she became a member of the Advertising Standards Authority
Council in November 2004.
In April 2002, Bharucha was appointed Chair of the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs for the Food Standards Agency
, and in 2006 she was appointed Lay Member of the Review Body for Judicial Complaints.
She was awarded a MBE in the 2008 New Year's Honours List for services to the animal feedstuffs industry.
, the body that succeeded the Board of Governors
as the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. She was to be the deputy to Michael Grade
, the then BBC Chairman. Grade resigned soon after the formation of the Trust on 1 November 2006 and Bharucha became the Acting BBC Chairman, a position that she held until Sir Michael Lyons took over the chairmanship on 1 May 2007.
Bharucha stood down from her role as Vice Chairman of the Trust on 31 October 2010.
Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists, founded in 1962, was established to co-ordinate this development and maintain the internationally renowned standards and reputation of British pathology. Today the College advises on a vast range of issues relating to pathology...
, FRSA
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, (born 6 April 1945) is a former consultant haematologist
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...
and former vice chairman of the BBC Trust
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Born in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, she was educated at Ewart School, Madras and Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore
Vellore
Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...
, gaining her medical qualification before moving to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1972. Between 1981 and 2000, she was consultant clinical haematologist at Belfast City Hospital
Belfast City Hospital
The Belfast City Hospital located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a 900-bed modern university teaching hospital providing local acute services and key regional specialities. Its distinctive tower block dominates the Belfast skyline being the fourth tallest storeyed building in Ireland...
and was deputy director of the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
Blood Transfusion Service. She was elected to the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
in 1999 where she served on a number of panels including chair of the Fitness to Practise Adjudication Panels.
In 1996 Bharucha moved into positions in the media industry, serving on the BBC Broadcasting Council for Northern Ireland until 1999. In April 2001 she was appointed Northern Ireland member of the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
, where she served until December 2003 when the ITC was subsumed into Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
, and she became a member of the Advertising Standards Authority
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
Council in November 2004.
In April 2002, Bharucha was appointed Chair of the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs for the Food Standards Agency
Food Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest...
, and in 2006 she was appointed Lay Member of the Review Body for Judicial Complaints.
She was awarded a MBE in the 2008 New Year's Honours List for services to the animal feedstuffs industry.
BBC
In October 2006, Bharucha was appointed as Vice Chairman of the BBC TrustBBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
, the body that succeeded the Board of Governors
Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replaced by the BBC Trust on 1 January 2007.The governors...
as the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. She was to be the deputy to Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
, the then BBC Chairman. Grade resigned soon after the formation of the Trust on 1 November 2006 and Bharucha became the Acting BBC Chairman, a position that she held until Sir Michael Lyons took over the chairmanship on 1 May 2007.
Bharucha stood down from her role as Vice Chairman of the Trust on 31 October 2010.