Staff Reporter / New Delhi
The Government has revised the Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels in India.
Briefing media here today, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said, the new guidelines will ensure ease of compliance for permit holders of TV channels and promote ease of doing business by simplification of rules and procedures. He said, a new provision has been added in the new guidelines to encourage the channels to broadcast content related to public service and national interests including agriculture, women empowerment and education.
In the revised guidelines, the requirement for seeking permission for live telecasts of events has been done away with. Now the prior registration of events to be telecast live would be necessary. In a major decision to promote ease of doing business, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) entities can also seek permission for TV channels.
LLP and companies would be allowed to uplink foreign channels from Indian teleports which would create employment opportunities and make the country a teleport hub for other countries.
Specific timelines have been proposed for grant for permission. A news agency can get permission for a five years period as against one year at present. One composite set of Guidelines has replaced two separate Guidelines.
The Structure of the Guidelines has been systematized to avoid duplication and common parameters. The penalty clauses have been rationalized and separate nature of penalties have been proposed for different type of contraventions as against uniform penalty at present.