The government has asked the Bharti Group to comply with foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for its direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting service within three months.
Services launch by Bharti Telemedia could get delayed
NEW DELHI: The government has asked the Bharti Group to comply with foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for its direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting service within three months.
This could mean some delay in launching Bharti’s DTH services.
Foreign investment permitted in DTH is 49% out of which FDI cannot exceed 20%. According to officials in the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry, the foreign investment in Bharti Telemedia, which operates the media segments of the group, exceeds the permitted level.
The I&B letter issued to Bharti last week refers to the clarifications/queries sought by the government six weeks ago. The letter has asked the firm to adhere to the DTH FDI norms, for which it has been given three months of correction time.
In July, after announcing Bharti’s quarterly financial results, company officials had said that Bharti was fully compliant with all the DTH guidelines. The telco is readying to enter the media space through DTH and IPTV (internet protocol television) services.
Reacting to reports of Bharti being under government scrutiny for violation of FDI norms in DTH, a senior Bharti Telemedia Services official had told this newspaper that he did not anticipate any hurdle from the government side on starting DTH service.
While Dish TV (Zee group) and TataSky (a joint venture of the Tata group and Star) were the only two private DTH platforms till recently, Anil Ambani-led ADAG group launched BigTV in August. Sun TV’s DTH service is also being offered in the South. Apart from this, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati runs a free-to-air DTH platform in the country.
Even as Bharti was expected to launch its DTH service in the summer of 2008, a delay is inevitable because of the FDI issue. Meanwhile, Bharti is already doing a pilot run of its DTH service.
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net
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