The Hindu Business Line : Entertainment policy on the anvil

The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad (left), along with Mr K.S. Sarma, CEO, Prasar Bharati, addressing a press conference in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI, April 19

THE Centre has decided to bring the entertainment industry to the centre-stage and facilitate its growth through an appropriate policy regime.

The current decade will be the decade of Indian entertainment, public broadcasting will be made competitive and viewers' choice and fair price will be ensured, according to the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad.

In line with this commitment, the Government will implement the conditional access system for cable operators from July 15 in the metros. On the anvil are measures to encourage film industry to forge partnerships with international players and promote Indian locales for foreign movie filming, he said.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr Prasad said that the basic tier service under conditional access provides for a minimum of 30 free-to-air channels at Rs 72 per month. There would be no relaxation in the deadline; the multi-system operators and cable television network operators should help facilitate the implementation, he said.

The system will introduce transparency in calculating the charges for services provided and offer the viewers a choice to pay only for the channels they wish to receive. The free-to-air service should include three Doordarshan channels; the system gives the cable operators freedom to decide on the mix of channels within the 30 that they are expected to offer free to air. It should include a proper mix of programmes like entertainment, educational, news and children's programmes, the Minister said.

The pay channels for which the consumers will have to install a set-top box to receive specific channels of their choice will be up to the cable operators who will have to cater to market demand. The market trends will also dictate whether the expense for the set-top box is borne by the consumer or the operators.

There are over 100 channels on offer of which 47 are news and current affairs. There are eight more applications pending, which include five news channels, according to Mr Prasad.

The Ministry is also giving a renewed thrust to enhancing the programme content on Doordarshan and Akashvani within the larger contours for public broadcasters. The public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has been requested to expedite Doordarshan's entry into Direct-To-Home service. The Government has earmarked over Rs 500 crore for the project. The plan is to infuse greater professionalism and aggressive marketing. Both have a rich, diverse and valuable archive, which will be better utilised using latest technology, he said.

Funds have also been earmarked for roping in leading content creators for Doordarshan, he said.

The Government is also looking at better exploiting the potential in film industry, which brought in over Rs 100 crore last year through export of feature films. To promote India as a locale to shoot films, the visa regime will be liberalised and a single-window clearance system implemented. Co-production agreements will also be entered into with countries like Canada and Italy.

Animation is another emerging field, and the film institutes in Pune and Kolkata will offer special courses in collaboration with leading players in international field, he said.

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Entertainment policy on the anvil