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Tag: govt

  • Govt denies cartelisation in Prasar Bharati, 724 complaints against MIB in ’16

    NEW DELHI: Even as corruption complaints against government departments rose by a whopping 67 per cent in 2016 over the previous year, the Government has denied any case of cartelisation in the tendering process of Prasar Bharati including All India Radio and Doordarshan.

    DD recently floated tenders for DD Kashir and Arun Prabha, apart from tenders for Indian Conditional Access system for its DTH platform FreeDish.

    Corruption complaints rose by 67 per cent, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has stated in its annual report tabled in the Parliament recently. The CVC noted that a total of 724 complaints were registered against the information and broadcasting ministry in 2016.

    The information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu, however, told the Parliament that Prasar Bharati, including Doordarshan, is adopting a fair and transparent system for the tendering process.

    Naidu added that Prasar Bharati had informed the MIB that it was following the rules and  procedures based on the Government guidelines including General Financial Rules (GFR) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines.

    Doordarshan had floated a tender for selecting an agency for channel packaging work for DD Kashir. The last date of submission of bids is 19 April 2017 afternoon. The tenders for technical bids will be opened on 20 April in the afternoon.

    DD Kashir programmes are beamed from Srinagar. An official of DD also denied reports that DD Urdu programmes were being used in DD Kashir.

    Earlier this month, Doordarshan invited applications for an agency to undertake the channel packaging work for its new northeast channel, DD Arunprabha. The last bid date is 1 May 2017.

    Arunprabha would would showcase richness, variety and diversity of local culture and would seamlessly integrate North East with the entire country.

    Also, five companies including two from Delhi were earlier shortlisted as original equipment manufacturers for set-top boxes for Doordarshan’s FreeDish on the Indian Conditional Addressable System (iCAS). The manufacturers are: Modern Communications and Broadcast Systems of Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Velankani Electronics of Bangalore; BGM Holding of Ghaziabad; and KMTS Engineering and Millennium Technology, both from Delhi. The technology of iCAS has been designed by ByDesign of Bangalore.

    Also Read:

    DD Arunprabha: Bids invited for channel packaging

    DD Kashir packaging agency tenders floated

    FreeDish iCAS STB:  Modern Comm, Velankani, BGM, KMTS & Millennium OEMs shortlisted

  • Govt. again rules out IMC reconstitution, says checks adequate

    NEW DELHI: The Government has once again ruled out any reconstitution of the Inter-Ministerial Committee which examines complaints against television channels.

    The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament this week that the IMC “already includes representatives from various Ministries concerned and the industry.”

    He also said that the existing provisions contained in the Programme & Advertising Codes and the existing mechanism are considered adequate to regulate content of private satellite TV channels. “No shortcomings have been found in the functioning of the IMC”, he added.

    Similar questions have been asked in this and previous sessions and the government has repeatedly said there is no proposal to reconstitute IMC.

    Content telecast on private satellite TV channels and transmitted/re-transmitted through the Cable TV network is regulated in terms of the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and Cable Television Network Rules 1994 framed thereunder.

    The Act does not provide for pre-censorship of any programme or advertisement telecast on such TV channels. However, all programmes and advertisements are required to be in conformity with the said Programme and Advertising Codes.

    The IMC functions under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary (I&B) and comprises officers drawn from Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs, Law, Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare, Consumer Affairs, Information & Broadcasting and a representative from the industry in Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to take cognizance suo-motu or look into specific complaints regarding violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes.

    He said the IMC functions in a ‘recommendatory’ capacity. The final decision regarding penalties and its quantum is taken by the Ministry on the basis of the IMC recommendations.

  • Govt tells SC NDTV note on ‘violation’ unacceptable, agrees to hearing

    MUMBAI: The central government on Saturday told the Supreme Court that NDTV India has not apologised but only sent a note over the alleged violation of telecast norms during the Pathankot attack, which is not acceptable. New Delhi Television Ltd earlier told apex court that it will not tender an apology for the coverage on 2 January 2016.

    Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and A K Sikri that the note from the TV channel does not seek apology in “explicit” terms, and hence cannot be accepted, the PTI reported. Advocate Harish Salve, appearing on behalf of NDTV, said then the channel would prefer hearing of its petition.

    The government put the ban in abeyance after the NDTV group moved the Supreme Court against the one-day ban imposed for 9 November, 2016. On 3 November, 2016, the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) asked NDTV India to go off-air for a day for revealing sensitive details on the Pathankot attack.

    Kumar meantime agreed to the hearing of the petition filed by the channel against the MIB order. The court posted the matter for hearing after three weeks. 

    Also Read: 

    NDTV won’t apologise for Pathankot coverage

    NDTV India ban reversal: Centre wants apology, counsel seeks time from SC

    Govt hands NDTV India 24-hr ban for breach of content code

    NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

  • Film piracy: Govt has no ‘losses’ figure, industry estimates Rs 180 bn a yr

    NEW DELHI: Even as the government said that no definite data was available on losses owing to piracy “if any”, the film industry had said in mid-2016 that the Indian film industry was losing $ 2.7 billion (Rs 180 billion) every year.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that the government ‘is aware that there are instances of piracy of films but these are subject matters of investigation by concerned investigating agencies of the respective state governments based on complaints by the concerned filmmakers’.

    The Copyright Act 1957 as amended in 2012 provides Civil Remedies [Chapter XII (Section 54-62)] as well as Criminal Remedies [Chapter XIII (Section 63-70)] to the Copyright holder and clause (c) of subsection (1) of Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 read with the Rule 75 of the Copyright Rules, 2013 are the provisions of the Act which deal with piracy of films, he said.

    The loss due to piracy is said to be 35 per cent more than the $2 billion from legitimate sources such as screening at theatres, home videos and TV rights earned by the film industry which is the largest globally with some 1,000 movies produced each year.

    Motion Picture Distributors’ Association (India) MD Uday Singh had said in mid-2016 that content theft or piracy in the film industry originates from ‘camcording’ in cinema halls. Over 90 per cent of new release titles originate from cinemas. He claimed that the Indian film industry loses over 60,000 jobs every year because of piracy.

    The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) also quoted these figures of loss due to piracy quoting noted filmmaker Anurag Basu. While the Indian film industry is, indeed, flourishing, piracy points toward how much more its stakeholders can make, he said.

    Meanwhile, the KPMG in India-FICCI Report on Media and Entertainment presented at the FICCI FRAMES earlier this month said films grew at a crawling pace of three per cent in 2016.

    The segment was impacted by decline in core revenue streams of domestic theatricals and satellite rights, augmented by poor box office performance of Bollywood and Tamil films.

    Expansion of overseas markets, increase of depth in regional content and rise in acquisitions of digital content byover-the-top platforms are expected to be the future growth drivers that would help the segment bounce back at a forecasted CAGR of 7.7 per cent.

    However, factors such as dwindling screen count and inconsistent content quality could prove to be limiting factors.

  • Govt wakes up to broadcast tech changes, Prasar manpower audit under way

    NEW DELHI: Even as the government admits to shortage of staff in the public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati, there is a need to re-assess actual requirement of staff keeping in view changes in broadcast technologies.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that Prasar Bharati has been advised to carry out a Manpower Audit to identify posts actually needed to be filled up.

    However, he said that limited recruitment has been undertaken as a special dispensation through Staff Selection Commission for critical Group ‘B’ and ‘C’ vacancies which were revived by the Government. In addition, special recruitment drive for filling up of backlog vacancies of Persons with Disabilities has also been carried out in Prasar Bharati.

    No plans to regularise contractual workers

    In reply to another question, the minister said there was no plan at present to regularise contractual workers in Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan, or All India Radio. He said Prasar Bharati has 38, Doordarshan has 749 and AIR has 196 contractual workers.

    These contractual workersare engaged for various categories of work such as news dissemination, programme generation, legal assistance, marketing, computers/ IT consultancy etc, both for AIR and DD, according to requirement.

    The number of casual announcers and casual comperes in various stations of All India Radio is 9722 and 4108, respectively. The casual announcers and comperes are engaged by the stations on assignment basis for a maximum of 6 bookings in a month up to a maximum of 72 days in a year, solely to meet the requirement of adding variety and interest to the programmes for which engagement on regular basis is not justified/ needed.

  • FM auction: Govt nets Rs 2 bn, ENIL wins 21 channels

    MUMBAI: A cumulative provisional Rs 2,002.4 million was earned against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 9,159.1 million from e-auction of 66 FM channels in 48 cities in the second batch of Phase III.

    According to an announcement of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 27 February, 266 FM channels had been shortlisted but only 66 channels made it to the winning list. ENIL (Entertainment Network India Limited) won the maximum number with 21 channels in different cities and bid for total of Rs 480.9 million.

    Interestingly, only two channels received bids of more than Rs 100 million as compared to 12 channels in the first batch. Kal Radio Ltd’s Hyderabad station bid a winning price is Rs 23,43,48,266 and South Asia FM Ltd’s Dehradun station had a winning price of Rs 15,61,00,590.

    Sambhaav Media Ltd won two stations in Jammu and Kashmir for Rs 5,00,000 each at Kathua and Leh. JCL India Ltd’s bagged stations in Kargil and Leh for Rs 5,00,000 each. South Asia FM Ltd’s won a station at Leh with Rs 5,00,000.

    Stations in four north eastern cities were bagged in the e-auction. Of these, three went to Purvy Broadcast Pvt Ltd: Aizwal for Rs 20,09,444, Dhubri for Rs 5,00,000, and Itanagar for Rs 43,72,914. Agartala went to South Asia FM Ltd for Rs 70,71,529.

    Read the full story here:

    Govt gets over Rs two billion from 66 FM stations in second batch Phase III

     

     

  • Govt defends UA certificate to ‘Jungle Book’ (3D)

    Govt defends UA certificate to ‘Jungle Book’ (3D)

    NEW DELHI: Even as it is still studying the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal Committee on film certification, the Government has justified the U/A certification to the English film “Jungle Book” (3D).

    The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in reply to a question in the Parliament that, though it was a children’s film, the Examining Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification judged it in its entirety from the viewpoint of its overall impact and felt that being in 3D technology, some of the visuals and sound effects could be scary for children below 12 years.

    Therefore, the film was recommended for “UA” certificate – universal viewing with parental guidance for children below 12 years. Similar grading was given for this film – “Parental Guidance” – in countries such as Australia, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines.

    CBFC certifies films for public exhibition in accordance with the Cinematograph Act 1952, Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 and guidelines issued thereunder.The Board issues certificates under the categories ‘U’, ‘UA’, ‘A’ or ‘S’ as applicable in accordance with Section 5A of the Cinematograph Act.

  • Govt defends UA certificate to ‘Jungle Book’ (3D)

    Govt defends UA certificate to ‘Jungle Book’ (3D)

    NEW DELHI: Even as it is still studying the recommendations of the Shyam Benegal Committee on film certification, the Government has justified the U/A certification to the English film “Jungle Book” (3D).

    The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in reply to a question in the Parliament that, though it was a children’s film, the Examining Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification judged it in its entirety from the viewpoint of its overall impact and felt that being in 3D technology, some of the visuals and sound effects could be scary for children below 12 years.

    Therefore, the film was recommended for “UA” certificate – universal viewing with parental guidance for children below 12 years. Similar grading was given for this film – “Parental Guidance” – in countries such as Australia, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines.

    CBFC certifies films for public exhibition in accordance with the Cinematograph Act 1952, Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 and guidelines issued thereunder.The Board issues certificates under the categories ‘U’, ‘UA’, ‘A’ or ‘S’ as applicable in accordance with Section 5A of the Cinematograph Act.

  • NDTV India ban: SC to hear appeal on 5 Dec; govt may restructure review panel

    NDTV India ban: SC to hear appeal on 5 Dec; govt may restructure review panel

    MUMBAI: It is not going to be easy to gag the freedom of press. NDTV India’s appeal against the one-day ban on its Hindi channel will be heard next month by the Supreme Court.

    NDTV has challenged the ban for violating the constitutional right to free speech and expression.

    Appearing for NDTV, Fali Nariman, one of India’s most reputed lawyers, said that, because the government has suspended the ban, there was no urgent need for the court to stay the government’s order that called for a 24-hour ban and that the case could be heard a month later, during which NDTV expects the government to take a final decision.

    The government on November 7 put on hold its order asking NDTV India not to telecast for 24 hours starting 9 November for allegedly flouting norms.

    The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing to December 5 as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told Justice A.K. Sikri that there was no real urgency as their plea (by NDTV) for review of the decision was being considered by the government.

    The ban was put on hold by the government after representatives of NDTV met with Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu. NDTV reiterated that its Hindi channel did not broadcast sensitive details of the terror attack on the Pathankot air base.

    The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said it was weighing restructuring the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) which reviews cases of violations in the broadcast media. The ministry was facing criticism for directing NDTV India to go off air for a day.

  • NDTV India ban: SC to hear appeal on 5 Dec; govt may restructure review panel

    NDTV India ban: SC to hear appeal on 5 Dec; govt may restructure review panel

    MUMBAI: It is not going to be easy to gag the freedom of press. NDTV India’s appeal against the one-day ban on its Hindi channel will be heard next month by the Supreme Court.

    NDTV has challenged the ban for violating the constitutional right to free speech and expression.

    Appearing for NDTV, Fali Nariman, one of India’s most reputed lawyers, said that, because the government has suspended the ban, there was no urgent need for the court to stay the government’s order that called for a 24-hour ban and that the case could be heard a month later, during which NDTV expects the government to take a final decision.

    The government on November 7 put on hold its order asking NDTV India not to telecast for 24 hours starting 9 November for allegedly flouting norms.

    The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing to December 5 as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told Justice A.K. Sikri that there was no real urgency as their plea (by NDTV) for review of the decision was being considered by the government.

    The ban was put on hold by the government after representatives of NDTV met with Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu. NDTV reiterated that its Hindi channel did not broadcast sensitive details of the terror attack on the Pathankot air base.

    The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said it was weighing restructuring the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) which reviews cases of violations in the broadcast media. The ministry was facing criticism for directing NDTV India to go off air for a day.