New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) will soon come up with a draft National Broadcasting Policy, and is slated to hold stakeholder consultations to come up with a larger animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) policy.
Neerja Sekhar, additional secretary in the I&B ministry, said in her address at 9th CII BIG Picture Summit Thursday: “Though the consultations on the National Broadcasting Policy were held with the stakeholders and industry some time back, we have been putting together various parts… and (addressing) the emerging issues. I feel that we are getting pretty close to coming up with a draft version.”
The stakeholders consulted for the policy include representatives from both the television as well as radio industries.
Sekhar was speaking during a special plenary, ‘Transformative Policy for Bigger Picture’, held on the second day of the event. She did not detail the contours of the policy.
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Reasons for a new policy
ThePrint had reported last year that a fresh broadcasting policy has been in the I&B ministry’s to-do list.
While the ministry is also working to amend the Cable TV Act — the lone, outdated piece of legislation regulating the broadcast industry — to handle the newer challenges of the television industry, there is no legal framework to regulate the booming private radio industry.
The Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, drafted in 2006 to regulate private television and radio channels, was put in cold storage by the UPA-2 government a few years later when it caused a furore among broadcasters for its “draconian” and “ill-conceived” provisions.
Last year, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar had told the Lok Sabha that in order to create an enabling environment for broadcasting and ensuring transparency, non-discrimination, consumer protection and orderly growth of the sector, consultations on the policy are being held with various stakeholders.
“The formulation of such a policy has multi-dimensional implications and it needs to be firmed up after due process. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated for the finalisation of the policy,” he had said.
AVGC sector
Joint Secretary Sekhar said that AVGC is an emerging sector, one with a great potential, and the government will soon start holding industry consultations as part of a larger policy for it.
She also said the I&B ministry has been trying to get infrastructure status for the broadcast industry, but has not been able to convince the finance ministry. “I would request the broadcasting industry and the OTT platforms to please support us on this, because we will need your help in taking this case to the finance ministry,” she said.
Sekhar added that the ministry has been working on decriminalising broadcast legislations and restricting the punitive actions to the licence of the entity, given that no prosecutions have ever taken place under the Cable TV Act since it came into effect.
Calling for-self regulation by the industry, Sekhar said that all over the world, particularly in democracies, a regulatory framework is essential for every sector to grow.
“But in strong democracies, this regulatory framework has to be a supportive framework,” she underlined.
5G can complement media and entertainment
As part of the same panel, S.K. Gupta, secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, said changing consumer behaviour has opened new challenges for the industry.
“Productivity of individuals is increasing, and therefore, time available for entertainment is reducing. Due to this, individuals want good quality time with entertainment… So, this gives a challenge to the industry to slightly tune up to their requirement,” he said.
Gupta said India is at the stage of adoption of the 5G technology, “so virtual reality and augmented reality are going to be very important areas to work together”. He added that it can complement the capabilities of the media and entertainment industry.
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