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The GoM on telecom also recommended that the 49 per cent cap on
foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investors
(FII) be hiked to 74 per cent in the telecom sector, but the management
control should remain with the Indian operator. However, the panel
did not deliberate whether a similar foreign investment cap in cable
ventures should also be raised.
The GoM is of the view that since content and other broadcasting
relating issues is being unable to be brought under the CCB, the
law "is not being pursued" at the moment, communications minister
Arun Shourie told reporters after the first week of GoM, which is
headed by finance minister Jaswant Singh.
According to Shourie, the GoM felt that the fast developments in
the broadcast sector needs a separate regulatory body and cannot
wait for the CCB to be enacted into a law after looking into the
amendments suggested by a parliamentary panel.
With this move, the proposal to have a separate regulatory body
for broadcast sector gets a major fillip.
Though information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
tried to play down this victory of sorts, sources in the ministry
indicated that now work on a broadcast regulatory authority would
be speeded up.
In principle, Prasad has been in favour of a separate broadcasting
regulatory authority or a commission to oversee issues related to
the sector like CAS, surrogate advertising, direct-to-home(DTH)
television service and content on TV channels that did not adhere
to the programming code of India.
Ministry sources said that the proposed broadcast authority would
be more or less in line with a similar framework that had been outlined
in the Broadcast
Bill, 1997 introduced in Parliament by the then United Front
government. The Bill could not be pursued as the government was
voted out of power at the Center
Contacted by indiantelevision.com, a senior executive of a foreign-owned
media company said that a separate broadcast regulatory framework
is a positive step.
Meanwhile, the FDI cap will stay at 49 per cent for the telecom
sector, while FIIs would be allowed to go for another 25 per cent
stake, taking the total foreign investment limit to 74 per cent,
Shourie explained.
The GoM has also finalised its recommendations on six of the eight
issues referred to it, and the remaining two issues would be taken
up at the next meeting on October four, he said.
Also Read:
GoM
to discuss telecom, broadcasting and infotech issues on Thursday
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