TV channels must broadcast 30 mins of ‘national interest’ content daily: Govt’s new rule

The Centre’s new guidelines make it mandatory for television channels, especially entertainment channels, to broadcast content of national interest and public importance for 30 minutes. The guidelines for uplinking and downlinking were announced in light of the government’s aim to make India an uplinking hub. It also announced relaxation in compliance for TV channels. Issued in 2005 for the first time, the guidelines were last revised in 2011. 

TV channels will have to broadcast 30 minutes of public interest content everyday, including themes of national interest such as education, literacy, agriculture and rural development, health and family welfare, science and technology, women welfare, welfare of weaker sections of the society, environmental protection, cultural heritage and national integration. 

The government will not provide the content for the channels. TV channels are free to create and broadcast their own content, I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra said.

Meanwhile, the ‘Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels in India, 2022', approved by the Cabinet, allow limited liability partnerships and companies to allow uplinking of foreign channels from Indian teleports. 

The move is expected to allow TV channels from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to uplink from India instead of Singapore, the preferred uplinking hub for channels in the subcontinent. Only 30 channels are uplinked from India out of the 897 registered channels. 

Sanjiv Shankar, Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) said that the requirement of seeking permission for live telecast of events has been done away with. Now only prior registration of events will be required to be telecast live. Moreover, no prior permission for changing of language or conversion mode of transmission from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD) or vice versa will be required. 

The guidelines also grant permission for a news agency for a five-year period against one year at present. It also stated that news gathering equipment other than Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG), such as optic fibre, back pack, mobile, would require no separate permission.

(With PTI inputs)

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