Indiantelevision.com's > Digital Edge > Government to increase DTH FDI from 49 to 74 per cent

Indiantelevision.com's Digital Edge

Government to increase DTH FDI from 49 to 74 per cent

Indiantelevision.com Team

(1 October 2008 9:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting additional secretary Uday Kumar Verma said that the ministry is looking at increasing the foreign direct investment in the direct-to-home platform.

Speaking on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the Indian Digital Networks Summit, Verma said, "The ministry is looking at increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the direct-to-home platform from the present 49 per cent to 74 per cent."

However, Verma declined to give a time frame for the increase in FDI. Verma also mentioned that the ministry is studying Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (Tdsat) judgement in the case between direct-to-home (DTH) operator Tata Sky and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, where Tdsat had ruled that the licence fee for DTH services should be charged on the basis of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and not on the basis of gross revenue (GR).

"The ministry is at present looking at Tdsat's judgment on charge licence fee from DTH operators", added Verma. The DTH operator Tata Sky had earlier argued license fee should be charged on the basis of revenue earned from licensed activity and not activities which are outside the license.