Political parties and politicians find an increasing urgency to start television news channels.
The latest demand for starting a TV channel is going to come from the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government during a meeting of information ministers to be hosted by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry in New Delhi on Saturday.
The state government of Uttar Pradesh would raise the demand on Saturday, Minister for Trade Tax Yasar Shah confirmed to The Indian Express.
Though Akhilesh is in charge of the information department in UP, he has authorised his Shah to represent him at the meeting that is being convened after nearly 10 years.
“I have been informed that the central government does not give permission to state governments to run their own TV news channels. It is a matter of concern. When private and government institutions are granted such permission, why not state governments?” Shah told IE.
Samajwadi Party’s demand will come ahead of the UP assembly elections, which will be held early next year.
UP government officials, tasked by the Chief Minister to push the idea, have already inquired about the possibility of starting the Samajwadi Party government’s own channel, IE reported, quoting sources in the I&B Ministry.
The Central government, however, is firm that state governments and assemblies should not be given permission to run TV channels.
When Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel requested the Centre to grant permission for a channel to be set up to telecast House proceedings, it was turned down. The channel would have run on the lines of Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV.
As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, the decision on awarding a digital addressable system (DAS) licence to state-owned MSO Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) would be taken after the Inter-Ministerial Committee takes a call on TRAI’s recommendations on the entry of state-owned companies in the TV broadcasting sector.
This information was provided by Minister of State in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) Rajyavardhan Rathore in the Lok Sabha. Arasu’s DAS licence application is pending with the ministry for the last four years.
Rathore said that the issue to grant multi-system operator (MSO) registration to Arasu Cable is directly linked with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations titled ‘Issues relating to entry of certain entities in Broadcasting and Distribution Activities’.
In its recommendations, TRAI had stated that state government entities should not be allowed to enter broadcasting and distribution activities.
“The recommendations of TRAI are under the consideration of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC). Their applications will be processed on receipt of IMC recommendations,” Rathore said.
Rathore also noted that “no government entity has been granted MSO registration after receipt of applications for DAS from Arasu Cable”. In fact, the MIB under Prakash Javadekar had rejected requests from the state governments of West Bengal and Punjab to enter broadcasting activities.
Now Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government wants own TV channel | TelevisionPost.com
The latest demand for starting a TV channel is going to come from the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government during a meeting of information ministers to be hosted by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry in New Delhi on Saturday.
The state government of Uttar Pradesh would raise the demand on Saturday, Minister for Trade Tax Yasar Shah confirmed to The Indian Express.
Though Akhilesh is in charge of the information department in UP, he has authorised his Shah to represent him at the meeting that is being convened after nearly 10 years.
“I have been informed that the central government does not give permission to state governments to run their own TV news channels. It is a matter of concern. When private and government institutions are granted such permission, why not state governments?” Shah told IE.
Samajwadi Party’s demand will come ahead of the UP assembly elections, which will be held early next year.
UP government officials, tasked by the Chief Minister to push the idea, have already inquired about the possibility of starting the Samajwadi Party government’s own channel, IE reported, quoting sources in the I&B Ministry.
The Central government, however, is firm that state governments and assemblies should not be given permission to run TV channels.
When Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel requested the Centre to grant permission for a channel to be set up to telecast House proceedings, it was turned down. The channel would have run on the lines of Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV.
As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, the decision on awarding a digital addressable system (DAS) licence to state-owned MSO Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) would be taken after the Inter-Ministerial Committee takes a call on TRAI’s recommendations on the entry of state-owned companies in the TV broadcasting sector.
This information was provided by Minister of State in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) Rajyavardhan Rathore in the Lok Sabha. Arasu’s DAS licence application is pending with the ministry for the last four years.
Rathore said that the issue to grant multi-system operator (MSO) registration to Arasu Cable is directly linked with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations titled ‘Issues relating to entry of certain entities in Broadcasting and Distribution Activities’.
In its recommendations, TRAI had stated that state government entities should not be allowed to enter broadcasting and distribution activities.
“The recommendations of TRAI are under the consideration of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC). Their applications will be processed on receipt of IMC recommendations,” Rathore said.
Rathore also noted that “no government entity has been granted MSO registration after receipt of applications for DAS from Arasu Cable”. In fact, the MIB under Prakash Javadekar had rejected requests from the state governments of West Bengal and Punjab to enter broadcasting activities.
Now Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government wants own TV channel | TelevisionPost.com
