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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is expected to consider increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in Direct to Home (DTH) and cable network very soon. This is after the Information & Broadcasting ministry addressed some of the concerns raised by the Home Ministry.
A senior Government official told Business Line , “The I&B Ministry has replied to various observations and suggestions put up by the Home Ministry. It seems that the Home Ministry is satisfied.” Now the proposal can be taken for final approval, he added.
The Home Ministry made six key observations/suggestions on the draft CCEA note for increasing FDI. According to the official, these were mainly in the nature of imposing more stringent safeguards.
However, the I&B Ministry has turned down the Home Ministry's suggestion to create a separate mechanism for blocking undesirable content as enough provisions were available under the existing act. The Cable Act also empowers authorised officials such as District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Commissioner of Police or any other official notified to take action against any violation of Cable Act including programming and advertisement codes.
Further, with a view to monitor the cable network and services being operated by cable operators, a new section has been incorporated in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act 2011. This will allow inspection, monitoring and lawful interception. So, all these will help in ensuring no undesirable content is aired, the official added.
According to him, the Home Ministry also appeared to be under the impression that broadcasting service providers, by virtue of their permission, licence or registration, will also be able to provide ISP service. However, the I&B Ministry has clarified that the service provider will have to take separate licence from the Department of Telecommunication.
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