Proposed Broadcast Bill, India

While the need for a Broadcasting Bill has been talked about since 1997, it was only in 2006 that the UPA Government with Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi as the Union Information & Broadcasting Minister brought out the draft for the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill. The Bill, said the I&B Ministry, will regulate the broadcast services with several private TV channels around now. The draft bill, which calls for the setting up of a separate Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI), has covered four major areas in its ambit, which would call for major corporate restructuring by media companiesforeign and domesticoperating in India. These include content, cross media ownership, subscriptions and live sports feeds. What regulations govern TV services as of now? Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995 is the basic governing system for all TV channels related issues. However, the Ministry has been of the view for years now that the increase in the number of TV channels requires a special set of laws in keeping with the times and with provision for a regulatory mechanism.

What is Content Code? Along with the draft broadcasting Bill, the Ministry has also formulated a content code to regulate the programme quality being aired by broadcasters and to protect the consumers interests, national interests and right to privacy.

Why is the broadcasting industry against the Bill and the Content Code? The big issue is the Governments intention to control or regulate programme content. The industry feels that the Government plans to infringe on their rights as a free media through the two proposed regulations and says that draconian laws will be applied, especially against news channels, under the ambit of the Bill if it is allowed to go through. A stringent Content Code and clauses like national interest and right to privacy of a citizen may spell the death knell for investigative journalism and sting operations for broadcasters. The other problem with the Bill is that in an age when citizens are bombarded with news/views through various media (newspapers, cable and satellite TV, Internet, radio and mobile phones), it seeks to enforce outdated concepts of the media and dominance as per broadcasters. The draft Bill, they point out, says that no broadcasting service provider can own more than 20 per cent of another broadcasting network service provider. BRAI is also liable to government control, say broadcasters.

Status of the proposed Bill and Content Code While the I&B Ministry planned to take the Bill to Parliament this monsoon session, vehement opposition from the broadcasters has forced a re-think. So while the Ministry still maintains that it will definitely get in a regulation, it is consulting stakeholders. The ministry Content Code may make way for a self-regulating content code being chalked out by the National Broadcasters Association (NBA). The draft bill on which various states are also being consulted still has the ministry and the broadcasters on opposite ends.