| NEW
DELHI: The latest digital TV technology of Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) will be finalised
shortly, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Anand Sharma said
today. With
its wider operational coverage area through satellite, HITS will help spread digital
distribution of signals throughout the country at one go with lower investments
by cable operators, compared to the present cable networks. Sharma
also pegged the projected annual growth of the television industry at 22 per cent
and FM radio at 24 per cent due to a liberal policy framework over the last few
years. The
number of private TV channels uplinking from India had increased to 376 from 131
at the end of 2004, including 200 news and current affairs channels. Announcing
that the number of private FM radio channels has jumped from a meagre 21 in 12
cities in 2004 to 245 in 87 cities, Sharma said it was proposed to provide licences
to 790 new FM channels in 210 additional locations in the Phase III of FM expansion.
The
attempt is to further liberalise the terms and conditions of permission to provide
more freedom to the industry and to ensure expansion of these services and better
off take in the North East, J&K and island territories by providing special
incentives, the Minister added in his opening remarks to the Consultative Committee
of the Members of Parliament attached to his Ministry. While
the members appreciated the technological advancements, they also voiced their
concerns about the mindless acts of violence, the gory details of incidents being
beamed by private TV channels purely for competitive TRP ratings. The members
emphasized that regional language channels should be given priority in the local
bouquet offered by the cable and DTH operators. The members also underlined the
need of a consumer grievance redressal system relating to both programming content
as well as hardware. In
the context of the coverage of the recent Mumbai terrorists attack, the proposal
for setting up of a Standing Media Consultative Committee in the Ministry of I&B
also came up for discussion which will keep the dialogue between Government and
the media open in a positive way. Apart
from MPs who are members of the Committee, the meeting was attended by senior
officials of the Ministry and Prasar Bharati. | 
