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I&B
Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday gave further indication
in Parliament that the government was close to mandating
on conditional access systems (CAS) as a way to resolve
the ongoing dispute between the cable industry and broadcasters.
Swaraj's comment was made as an adjunct to a question on
whether the government had received a request to set up
a television regulatory body.
The
government has received no request for the setting up of
a television regulatory body on the lines of the Telecom
Authority to regulate the subscription charged by cable
operators, Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament),
in a written reply.
Swaraj disclosed that there was no legal provision at present
to regulate subscriptions by TV cable operators. She,
however said the government was examining the feasibility
of mandating CAS for pay channel viewing through cable.
Replying
to another question, Swaraj said a group of six officials
had been constituted by the Prasar Bharati to examine the
feasibility of privatisation and joint ventures in national
broadcaster Doordarshan's Metro Channel.
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