Broadcasting bill to usher in radical changes

The government will introduce a comprehensive broadcasting bill in the current Budget session of Parliament to regulate all aspects of private radio and television broadcasting companies including direct to home and multi-channel microwave distribution system in the country.

A proposal to this effect was approved by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday, which also seeks the setting up of an independent broadcasting authority on the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

The draft proposes a cess on radio and television sets and a ban on service-providers without a licence. It also moots uplinking facility for television channels with major Indian shareholdings.

The comprehensive legislation on broadcasting was referred to a sub-committee of ministers by the H D Deve Gowda government following certain differences in the United Front. The sub-committee comprised the information and broadcasting, the commerce, the law and the finance ministers.

The sub-committee also discussed various recommendations made by the committee of secretaries besides the representations received from media barons and cable operators.

The sub-committee reportedly softened the original clauses on cross-media holdings since several national newspapers had petitioned the Deve Gowda government against the proposal to ban such holdings.

The Supreme Court ruled in February 1995 that airwaves were public property and should be regulated by an independent authority. A parliamentary sub-committee, headed by Ram Vilas Paswan, had recommended banning of cross-media holdings and denial of uplinking facility to private television channels. However, the Sengupta committee had recommended that uplinking facilities should be provided to companies with major Indian shareholdings.

According to sources in the information and broadcasting ministry, this will help bring in more foreign exchange as international companies will have to set up Indian subsidiaries and provide greater employment opportunities as programmes will have to be produced within the country.

The Prasar Bharati Act was introduced in December 1989 by then information and broadcasting minister P Upendra and passed by Parliament in August 1990. The president gave his assent in September the same year. The Act aims at greater autonomy for both radio and television.

UNI