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At the moment private FM radio channels, unlike radio pubcaster
All India Radio's FM channels, are not allowed to air any N&CA
fare, except weather bulletins, stocks news and local traffic reports.
Also, only foreign institutional investors (FII) can invest up to
20 per cent as part of portfolio investment that is allowed under
a Reserve Bank of India guideline.
Since foreign investment is not allowed, Radio City has come under
government scanner. The government has alleged and sought clarifications
from licence holder Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd, (a P K Mittal company)
as to why its licence should not be terminated on the ground that
a Star India subsidiary is the de facto controller of the FM channels
run in Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai.
Though the task force on radio broadcast policy is headed by one
of the champions of liberalisation, Ficci secretary-general Amit
Mitra, indiantelevision.com learns that the working premise of the
panel seems to be not liberalisation, but more control citing security
reasons and stringent guidelines. Unless it treads a different path.
The task force is likely to recommend that foreign investment in
FM radio be brought at part with the norms in the print and electronic
medium. In the latter case the yardstick would be guidelines for
the news channels.
Investor- friendly guidelines needed
Take community radio, for example. Announced with much fanfare last
year by the then information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj
("It will revolutionise radio in the country," she had
said), community radio is a non-starter till date. Reason: the guidelines
for the community/campus
radio have been termed by some people, who had evinced interest,
as "restrictive and unworkable."
The ministry had predicted 1,000 community radio stations by the
end of 2003. However, the government has so far received only 25
applications and not a single community radio licence has been issued.
Unlike commercial FM radio, where security clearance has to be
obtained only from the home ministry, a seemingly harmless community/campus
radio venture requires clearances from five ministries, including
defence and external affairs.
The terms of reference for the FM task force mentions that non-commercial,
non-ad driven radio channels to be run by commercial FM stations.
It is not clear why commercial broadcasters would invest in non-profit
ventures. On the contrary, special concessions should be offered
to broadcasters willing to provide non-commercial, public service
and community radio services.
Since news and current affairs programming is permitted on private
TV channels - with shareholding riders, of course - there is a strong
case for permitting news on private radio channels too. An issue
that has been asked to be looked into by the FM task force.
I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told indiantelevision.com
some months back that the government is looking into this issue.
At that time the
issue had gained topicality because BBC radio was in discussion
with AIR to use the latter's FM platform to do a variety of programming,
including current affairs show. The discussions, since then, have
collapsed with no arrangement being reached.
Currently only radio pubcaster All India Radio (AIR) is permitted
to air news and current affairs programming. While AIR does cover
national and international news extensively, there is hardly any
local news on AIR that can be used by listeners of radio in different
parts of this vast country. As a general principle, most AIR stations
have local bulletins running into maximum of five minutes a day
and even this news is dominated by state-level news.
Considering radio is an intensely 'local' phenomenon and there
is tremendous demand for local news on radio, allowing private FM
radio channels to air such local bulletins may just turn out to
be the dose that the doctor prescribed for the financially beleaguered
private FM radio stations, all of whom have to make do with airing
music --- mostly sounding the same --- continuously.
On the issue of frequencies, the government and the bureaucracy
always cites security reasons for not releasing additional frequencies.
The FM task force can look into this issue too sympathetically.
With over 50 FM frequencies in each city or town (and these frequencies
can be repeated every 100 kms or so), the Indian government is unnecessarily
parsimonious with frequency allocation.
Of the 108 frequencies in 40 cities that were allotted in March
2000 by the government to private parties, only 22 stations are
actually on air in about 12 cities. This is not just loss of revenue
for the government, but a huge loss of choice to people in states
like Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and the entire
North-East where not a single private channel has come.
In the second phase, 200 FM frequencies are expected to be allotted
in 70 more cities. However, the idea that is floating round in the
corridors of power that big cities should have six to seven channels
and smaller cities one or two stations is quite inexplicable.
Cities like Colombo, Jakarta, Manila Kuala Lumpur --- many of them
more strife-torn than India --- have over two dozen FM channels.
By trying to limit the number of channels in Indian cities, the
government is again trying to control the choice of the people.
While a small country like the Philippines has over 350 radio stations
(90 per cent privately owned), India is a relative backwater with
only 234 radio stations in a country of over a billion people.
But because the guidelines are so restrictive, indirectly the government
ends up encouraging monopoly in radio in the private sector. The
call of the day should be to open up FM and other radio technology
to private participation in such a way that would encourage competition
and give more choice to the people.
Radio Mid Day West India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Mid-Day Multimedia
Ltd, has already sent a conditional notice to the I&B ministry
that it will surrender its licence for FM Radio broadcasting in
Mumbai with effect from 29 June 2004.
Judging by the noises coming from the government, Mid-Day's Go
92.5 FM could well have to down shutters by next year. Assuming
of course that the closure notice is not just a threat that is.
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