The government expressed readiness to have a re look at the draft Broadcasting Bill but ruled out deferring its introduction in Parliament in Monsoon session
NEW DELHI: Faced with broadcasters' protests over provisions like restrictions on cross-holdings in media companies, the government on Monday expressed readiness to have a re look at the draft Broadcasting Bill but ruled out deferring its introduction in Parliament in Monsoon session next month.
A seminar 'Regulations in the Entertainment Sector' saw broadcasters and government at loggerheads on the content code and the Bill with neither side in a mood to deviate from their stated positions.
"We are prepared to look at the draft Bill again for the issues which need to be ironed out," Information and Broadcasting Secretary Asha Swarup said, but rejected suggestions that the government should postpone bringing forward the Bill in Parliament by a year.
Strongly opposing the move to regulate content, Times Global Broadcasting Company CEO Sunil Lulla said: "Trying to create the regulation bill is like trying to shackle the industry and the provisions were not enabling but disabling".
Echoing similar sentiments, Aajtak CEO G Krishnan said: "Any regulation on a free press would be regressive and set us back by many, many years."
Swarup told broadcasters, agitated over the provisions including cross-media regulations and setting up of an independent broadcast regulator that the matter has been pending for the last 10 years suggesting that the government cannot wait indefinitely.
Reacting to the criticism, Swarup said the ministry has only revised the codes and proposes to present them in a Content Code in view of the discussions with industry that have been taking place since October 2005.
"Within the country itself, there has always been a programme code and an advertising code as part of the licence conditions for the service providers to abide by," she said.
Opposing the government's move to impose restrictions on cross-media holdings, Amit Khanna, chairman of FICCI Committee on Convergence and chairman of Reliance Entertainment said these were "absurd" and needed to be taken care of.
There was a the need for 'benign benevolence' on the part of the government in drafting a forward-looking regulation, he added.
While government has maintained it has ensured an open and transparent procedure for setting up of the proposed Broadcasting Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI), the seminar saw the broadcasters against involvement of politicians in any manner.
The reference was to the government proposal to set up BRAI on the recommendations of a Committee constitued of Vice President, Lok Sabha Speaker and the Leader of Opposition.
Swarup sought to rebutt the industry's objections, saying telecom regulator TRAI and market regulator SEBI are also set up by the concerned ministries.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}