| "There had been a demand to involve
the consumer affairs ministry and we thought it'd be good to do so,"
a senior government functionary said today.
Pointing out that political opposition to CAS has almost been smoothened
out, it was revealed that the government does not foresee much hitch
in the rollout of CAS from 1 September.
In the lower house of the Parliament today, dwelling on CAS, information
and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed his fellow
parliamentarians that the zone-wise implementation of CAS in the
metros would give everybody time that will be "utilised to
set up preparedness for smooth rollout of CAS and to educate subscribers
and increase their awareness."
Later, inaugurating a newly refurbished Press Lounge at the Press
Information Bureau (PIB) in the capital, Prasad took a swipe at
the television industry by saying my assertion of "self regulation
better than control" has not worked with the television people.
"I hope it would work with journalists who, I am sure, would
help in the upkeep of the swanky lounge," the minister said.
REGULATORY AUTHORITY
The Indian government is studying a suggestion that entails expanding
the ambit of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to
cover the broadcast sector.
Though the information and broadcasting ministry preferred to play
down this move, a senior official did admit that having TRAI do
the job on a temporary basis is a suggestion that has come to the
ministry.
"But these things (like a regulatory body) cannot be done
in a hurry and various suggestions have to be studied," the
official said, adding that seminars on the issue of a regulatory
mechanism would be held in association with the Federation of Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Industries
(Ficci).
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