The Government hopes to auction a total of 1,000 new FM radio channels by 2016, with it already giving its nod to partial auctions of 135 channels in 69 cities in phase three of the process, said JS Mathur, Additional Secretary of the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
He was speaking at the annual convention of FICCI-Frames, a media and entertainment conclave organised by the industry body.
Mathur spoke briefly about the media and entertainment industry in India, saying that it was "exciting times for the industry, with challenges in emerging technology, new platforms," and new prospects in "content and business and revenue models."
He also pointed out the growing prospects in the animation and gaming sector.
Speaking about the cable TV digitisation process, he said that the process has been a step forward for all major stakeholders in the business. He said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has extended the deadlines for phase three and four of the Digital Addressable System implementation to December 2015 and December 2016 respectively.
He also said that the industry can expect a revision to the Cinematograph Act soon and said that making India a global filming destination is on the government's agenda.