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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Jan. 1

AFTER months of using temporary permission to uplink from India, Star News channel has finally received its permanent uplinking licence that will be valid for the next 10 years.

Sources in the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry said, "Star News can now uplink from India. Only formalities such as signing up of the licence agreement remains." This comes in just days after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) rejected Television Eighteen's application seeking permission to bring in FDI in its subsidiary.

Star News has been in the midst of controversy regarding its uplinking application. As it was the first foreign news channel wishing to uplink from India, the Government decided to come up with a separate policy for such channels in March wherein foreign investment was capped at 26 per cent. Star News, then put in application under a company named Media Content and Communication Services (MCCS), in which the Star Group was the largest shareholder with 26 per cent stake while the rest of the equity in the company was held by some well-known businessmen and media personalities.

The Government felt that this application did not follow the guidelines in "spirit" and revised the norms in September by including a clause stating that the company must have a "dominant Indian partner." The Star Group then tied up with Aveek Sarkar's ABP Ltd, with the latter holding 74 per cent stake. With the recent permission, Star News would be able to uplink from Indian soil.

Meanwhile, rival channel TV Today's Aaj Tak has written to the I&B Ministry seeking permission to allow Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to participate in its initial public offer (IPO). According to the existing guidelines, FII investment is not permitted in news channels.

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