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Ambarish Mukherjee

To ensure pvt broadcasters fulfil public services obligations

New Delhi , June 25

The proposed independent regulator for the broadcasting industry is to finally take shape under the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2006, which would be placed before the Union Cabinet soon. Once it is set up, the Broadcasting Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) would be taking over the powers and jurisdiction now vested with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) with regard to broadcasting and cable television network services in the country, including satellite radio broadcasting networks.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting expects that the Bill would have an easy passage in Parliament as the concerns of industry have been taken into account and the expectation is that the new regulator would be in place within the current fiscal, sources said.

The BRAI would be a quasi-judicial authority with powers to hear and adjudicate disputes between various licensing authorities under it and broadcasters, consumers and also dispute between broadcasters. It would be a seven-member body headed by a Chairperson and six full-time members.

However, though BRAI would be taking over the powers related to broadcasting and cable television from TRAI, the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal would be the appellate tribunal for both the regulators.

The BRAI would also be the administrative authority for setting up and functioning of a `Public Services Broadcasting Obligation Fund' (PSBOF) that would take care of the public service obligations of the private broadcasters.

The Bill empowers the Government to separately formulate terms and conditions for raising funds for the PSBOF from the licensed broadcasters and the modalities of their collection and utilisation.

The Government would also formulate an institutional arrangement for carrying out the objective of the fund that would include financing the production and broadcasting of programme content and messaging on socially relevant themes on various channels.

Public service obligations

The BRAI would have a strict vigil on various public services obligations of the private broadcasters. The public services obligations, apart from participating in the PSBOF, would also include dedicating at least 10 per cent of the channel's commercial time and 10 per cent of programme time per week to public service/social messaging and public interest/socially relevant programme, respectively, sources said.

It would also be mandatory for the channels to ensure that at least 15 per cent of the total content broadcast per week is produced in India.

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