| "The implementation committee would
monitor the readiness for CAS rollout in association with all stakeholders
of the industry," a senior information and broadcasting ministry
official said today.
Pointing out that the mandate for the soon-to-be-notified body
would be to access ground realities, including available infrastructure
such as subscriber management system and pricing of pay channels,
the official said, "The idea is to meet on a weekly basis before
1 September."
The implementation committee will include Zee Telefilms CMD Subhash
Chandra, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, Sony Entertainment TV India
CEO Kunal Dasgupta, TV Today Network CEO G Krishnan, Television
Eighteen Ltd MD Raghav Bahl, Rajiv Khattar from Siti Cable, Rajeev
Vyas of INCablenet, K Jayaraman of Hathway Datacom, cable operators'
representatives Roop Sharma and Anil Parab (representing the independent
cable operators from Mumbai) and executives from Sumangali and RPG
Netcom.
The first meeting of the implementation panel is likely to be held
in Mumbai, according to the government official.
However, there is no consumer representation on this panel and
the official said consumer bodies and/or consumer representatives
would only be special invitees from time to time
The new panel is being set up, at the behest of I&B minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad, to smoothen out any rough edges to the already
controversial CAS.
The opposition and even some allies of the coalition government
are going hammer and tongs against implementation of addressability
in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament which is why Prasad
is having a tough time explaining the upside of CAS in both the
Houses of Parliament twice a week when issues related to media are
discussed.
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