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The legal route is being tried out by Mirchi, as well as other
players who contemplate taking the same road, in an attempt to stall
payments in the current government's reign, in the belief that the
next government that comes to power after the ongoing Lok Sabha
(Lower House) elections, will take a more lenient view of the radio
licensing regime.
But government officials say that at this time, it would not be
prudent for the government to defer the license fee payment as it
would need a cabinet okay, which could be questioned by opposition
political parties as the election process is on and the present
government is just a caretaker one.
More importantly, officials point out, that if a deferment of the
license fee happens, then it may result in financial loss for the
government as the total license fee of various players put together
amounts to almost Rs 1000 million.
FM broadcasters have been trying to get the government to rationalise
the sector by getting a revenue sharing model in place of the license
structure. Information and broadcasting minister R S Prasad had
hinted in favour of the proposed model during Frames 2004 held in
Mumbai in March. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, earlier
this month, issued its interim recommendations on private FM broadcast.
According to the recommendations, FM licensees were given the option
of deferring payments, which could fall due till a final decision
is taken.
The final recommendations of Trai would address the issue of license
fee payable as well as the relevant interest rate. The I&B ministry
however, has not taken a decision on the recommendations thus far.
Read earlier stories -
FM radio: Govt. may opt
for partial sops
Private FM players get
payments breather: Trai issues interim recommendations
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