The government is likely to finalise fresh guidelines for regulating television content soon
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to finalise fresh guidelines for regulating television content soon, now that PM Manmohan Singh is in charge of the Union information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry as well, according to sources in the government. The new Content Code norms would require the approval of a Cabinet minister. Anand Sharma, who was given the additional I&B portfolio after PR Dasmunsi was hospitalised, is a minister of state.
The government would now be in a position to notify the print media norms regarding publication of news-based foreign magazines in India. That, too, would require a Cabinet minister’s nod. The I&B ministry will now have to consider the recommendations of the regulator, TRAI, on not allowing political parties and state governments to enter broadcasting services.
The foreign publication rules were changed by the Union Cabinet in September when Dasmunsi was the I&B minister, but the notification is still awaited. Forbes and Fortune are among the magazines which have already tied up with Indian partners for publishing from the country, but have deferred their launch. BusinessWeek and The Economist are also believed to be keen on bringing out Indian editions.
After the notification is issued, news-based foreign magazines will be allowed to publish their Indian editions. So far, foreign publications were only permitted to come out with facsimile editions in India, something that was not financially lucrative for the players.
The government has no option but to reframe the Content Code norms following the intervention of the SC recently. The court had asked the government about the steps it had taken to ensure that “decency returned to television”. Before that, the Delhi HC had criticised the government for the low quality of TV content.
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net
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