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Source: The post is based on the article “Content in national interest: What new TV broadcast guidelines say” published in Indian Express on 9th November 2022.
What is the News?
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has released the ‘Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite Television Channels in India, 2022’.
Note: Uplink refers to a communication channel to transmit messages of electronic nature to a satellite. Downlinking, on the other hand, means the communication channel used to receive the electronic messages coming from the satellite.
What is the requirement for public service broadcasting under the guidelines?
The government has made it mandatory for all TV channels including private channels to undertake public service broadcasting for a minimum period of 30 minutes a day on themes of national importance and of social relevance.
The eight themes of national importance and of social relevance are: 1) education and spread of literacy, 2) agriculture and rural development, 3) health and family welfare, 4) science and technology, 5) welfare of women, 6) welfare of the weaker sections of the society, 7) protection of environment and of cultural heritage and 8) national integration.
However, certain channels are exempted from this such as wildlife channels, foreign channels and live telecasts in the case of sports channels.
What is the rationale behind this?
The government has argued that since airwaves/ frequencies are public property they need to be used in the best interest of society.
However, representatives of several broadcasters pointed out that while airwaves may be public property, they had paid hefty fees for their use — any binding guidelines that adversely impact their commercial interests may not, therefore, be fair.
How will compliance be ensured with these guidelines?
Once the guidelines are implemented, the Ministry will monitor the channels for the broadcast of this content. In case of non-compliance, an explanation will be sought.
If a channel continues to be non-compliant, more steps can be taken based on specific advisories that will be issued from time to time, and on a case-to-case basis.
What are the other provisions of the guidelines?
Channels uplinking in frequency bands other than C-band must encrypt their signals.
Uplinking and downlinking shall be subject to clearance and approval by the Ministry of Home Affairs and wherever considered necessary, of other authorities.
Broadcast companies will be allowed to uplink foreign channels from Indian teleports. This would help in making India a teleport hub for other countries.
Note: Currently, Singapore is considered the hub of teleport uplinking.
