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Tag: Jayashree Mukherjee

  • Govt panel discusses autonomous Prasar’s ‘outreach’ funding from external affairs ministry

    Govt panel discusses autonomous Prasar’s ‘outreach’ funding from external affairs ministry

    NEW DELHI: With the central government laying emphasis on its external relations, particularly with neighbouring countries, the Standing Advisory Committee of All-India Radio has decided to work in tandem with the external affairs ministry with regard to reaching out to other countries through its broadcast services.

    The Committee, which met recently after 34 years (the last meeting was in 1983) and for the first time after Prasar Bharati came into being in 1997, took various decisions which will enable greater interaction between the external affairs ministry and the pubcaster.

    AIR external services director Amlanjyoti Mazumdar told Indiantelevision.com that the meeting, held at the initiative of AIR, was chaired by the ministry of information and broadcasting additional secretary Jayashree Mukherjee though the committee is headed by the MIB secretary.

    The committee was “revived and reconstituted” as part of the revamping process of the External Services Division (ESD) of the public broadcaster.

    The committee represents various stakeholders of public diplomacy like ministries of external affairs and home affairs as well as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

    Mazumdar said that under Section 12(4) of the Prasar Bharati Act 1990, the ESD has to be funded by the external affairs ministry. However, ESD has, so far, been funded through internal resources of the pubcaster. This matter was also taken up at the meeting, where it was clearly stated that channels like Voice of America or Germany’s Deutsche Welle or the external services of Canada were funded by the foreign affairs departments of those countries.

    Mazumdar said the issue was never raised when the government was funding All-India Radio and Doordarshan, but had become important after Prasar Bharati came into being as an autonomous organisation.

    One of the issues discussed in the meeting was how to counter the increasing penetration of foreign radio broadcast in the country, particularly in the north eastern states, sources said.

    It was pointed out that, at a time when the government is keen to reach out to the neighbouring countries, AIR did not have a service for Bhutan.

    A strategy for broadcasting outside India like in Myanmar and Tibetan Autonomous Region was also discussed during the meeting, they said.

    The role of Indian missions abroad to enrich the programme with country-specific inputs was also discussed in the meeting, the sources added.

  • MIB cracks whip on illegal analogue signals, states asked to ensure compliance

    MIB cracks whip on illegal analogue signals, states asked to ensure compliance

    NEW DELHI: Exactly three weeks into the new era of digital addressable system for cable television in the country, the government has requested state government officers to ensure that no analogue signals are transmitted by any cable operator.

    In an advisory sent to the designated officers in state governments, information and broadcasting ministry additional secretary Jayashree Mukherjee said that, in case any MSOs/cable operators is not complying with these directions/orders, action can be initiated under Section 11 of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act for  violating Section 4A of the Cable TV Act, under intimation to the Ministry.

    She added that some complaints for carriage of analogue signals are being received in the Ministry and these are being sent to the respective Authorised officers separately for taking action.

    However, conflicting reports continue to come in -particularly from Phase IV areas – of non-compliance with DAS and the continuation of analogue signals. The DTH operators have also stepped up their marketing campaigns to net the customers in these areas.

    The Ministry on 23 December 2016 had extended the cut-off date of switch over to digital in Phase IV areas to 31 March 2017 and a circular was issued on 30 March 2017 to ensure switch off of analog signals in Phase IV areas by 1 April 2017.

    Under Section 4A of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995, it is obligatory for every cable operator to transmit or re-transmit programmes of any channel in an encrypted form through a digital addressable system with effect from the dates as may be specified or notified by the Ministry from time to time. Section 2 of the Act says the DM, SDM and CP are the authorised officers who have powers under Section 11 to seize the equipment used for operating Cable TV Network if there are violations of provisions of the Cable Act, including Section 4A.

    Also Read :

    DAS: Even official figures show cable TV digitisation is incomplete

    DAS: MSOs, LCOs give low figure of STB seeding, official sources admit it’s under 80%

    Analogue signals: MIB to take action against defaulters

    Action to be taken against analogue-using  MSOs / LCOs in urban areas

  • MSOs urged to buy domestic set top boxes as there is no shortage

    MSOs urged to buy domestic set top boxes as there is no shortage

    NEW DELHI: Reiterating that there was no scarcity of digitally addressable set top boxes and the cut-off date of the final phase was fast approaching, Information and Broadcasting Additional Secretary Jayashree Mukherjee has urged multi system and local cable operators to place orders with domestic manufacturers.

    She has also also said that the broadcasters should develop their own AV Spots and start using these by 30 Septemberr 2016 and start a scroll on their channels to mount publicity campaign about digital addressable system.

    Chairing the 17th meeting of the DAS Task Force, Mukherjee agreed with a suggestion that an advisory may be issued by the Ministry to all MSOs to carry public awareness campaign on their local channels also.

    She said considering that the cut-off date of 31 December 2016 was fast approaching, the State Nodal Officers were requested to take help of the Assistant project Directors of Regional Units to implement complete digitization in their States and carry out regular monitoring of the progress at the State as well as District level, preferably on weekly basis.

    She said the schedule of the meeting planned at State level may be sent to the Ministry so that if required, the Ministry’s representative can also be present in some of these meetings.

    She also felt that the Ministry should regularly release Press Notes/Press Releases on the status of Cable TV Digitization.

    At the meeting held on 31 August 2016, Mukherjee, representatives of Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal gave details of the progress of implementation of digitization in phase lll and measures being undertaken by them to implement the last phase of digitization in their respective States.

    Almost all of them said they were holding regular meetings to monitor the progress and are trying to resolve the issues with stakeholders in order to achieve the target of compfete digitization by the cut-off date.

    However, the Chairperson observed that more action was required to be taken by the Nodal Officers of UP, Bihar and Karnataka.

    Considering that there were around 6000 MSOs operating in the country but only about 1300 had applied for MSO registration to the Ministry, the broadcasters were requested to ask the MSOs with whom they have interconnect agreements but who have not applied for MSO registration wherher they were interested to work as MSO in the DAS notified area failing which they would not be able to act as MSO after the cut-off date.

    The representative of Sony mentioned that they have interconnect agreements with about 1500 MSOs,out of which 1101 have not applied to the Ministry for MSO registration. He confirmed that these MSOs have been advised to apply for MSO registration if they want to continue as MSO in DAS notified areas.

    The representative of Star also mentioned that they have issued similar letters to their MSOs who have not taken MSO registration from the Ministry.

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation representative was requested to ensure that the similar action is taken by all other members of the IBF and also to supply the list with their e-mail addresses, including those from Sony, to the Ministry so that the Ministry can also write to them.

    The representative of CEAMA said they are not getting sufficient orders of STBs from the big players, though they have enough stock of STBs.

    Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Sanjay Murthy said an issue of setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at national level for MSOs, LCOs and consumers was discussed with the representatives of broadcasters a few days back. He wanted to know the status of setting up of such a system. The representative of IBF said it was working on it and would submit a proposed plan by 10 September 2016 to the Ministry.

    While reviewing the progress of the court cases pending in Delhi High Court with regard to cut off date of phase lll digitization, the representative of IBF said it had filed an application in the Hon’ble Delhi High Court to implead them in these cases.

    Regarding the public awareness campaign, the representative of the IBF said its members have already started the public campaign using 2 AV Spots provided by the Ministry. He also said scrolls are being planned by their members. The Chairperson emphasized the need for IBF members to develop their own AV Spots as had been done on earlier occasions.

    Also read:

    DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

  • MSOs urged to buy domestic set top boxes as there is no shortage

    MSOs urged to buy domestic set top boxes as there is no shortage

    NEW DELHI: Reiterating that there was no scarcity of digitally addressable set top boxes and the cut-off date of the final phase was fast approaching, Information and Broadcasting Additional Secretary Jayashree Mukherjee has urged multi system and local cable operators to place orders with domestic manufacturers.

    She has also also said that the broadcasters should develop their own AV Spots and start using these by 30 Septemberr 2016 and start a scroll on their channels to mount publicity campaign about digital addressable system.

    Chairing the 17th meeting of the DAS Task Force, Mukherjee agreed with a suggestion that an advisory may be issued by the Ministry to all MSOs to carry public awareness campaign on their local channels also.

    She said considering that the cut-off date of 31 December 2016 was fast approaching, the State Nodal Officers were requested to take help of the Assistant project Directors of Regional Units to implement complete digitization in their States and carry out regular monitoring of the progress at the State as well as District level, preferably on weekly basis.

    She said the schedule of the meeting planned at State level may be sent to the Ministry so that if required, the Ministry’s representative can also be present in some of these meetings.

    She also felt that the Ministry should regularly release Press Notes/Press Releases on the status of Cable TV Digitization.

    At the meeting held on 31 August 2016, Mukherjee, representatives of Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal gave details of the progress of implementation of digitization in phase lll and measures being undertaken by them to implement the last phase of digitization in their respective States.

    Almost all of them said they were holding regular meetings to monitor the progress and are trying to resolve the issues with stakeholders in order to achieve the target of compfete digitization by the cut-off date.

    However, the Chairperson observed that more action was required to be taken by the Nodal Officers of UP, Bihar and Karnataka.

    Considering that there were around 6000 MSOs operating in the country but only about 1300 had applied for MSO registration to the Ministry, the broadcasters were requested to ask the MSOs with whom they have interconnect agreements but who have not applied for MSO registration wherher they were interested to work as MSO in the DAS notified area failing which they would not be able to act as MSO after the cut-off date.

    The representative of Sony mentioned that they have interconnect agreements with about 1500 MSOs,out of which 1101 have not applied to the Ministry for MSO registration. He confirmed that these MSOs have been advised to apply for MSO registration if they want to continue as MSO in DAS notified areas.

    The representative of Star also mentioned that they have issued similar letters to their MSOs who have not taken MSO registration from the Ministry.

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation representative was requested to ensure that the similar action is taken by all other members of the IBF and also to supply the list with their e-mail addresses, including those from Sony, to the Ministry so that the Ministry can also write to them.

    The representative of CEAMA said they are not getting sufficient orders of STBs from the big players, though they have enough stock of STBs.

    Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Sanjay Murthy said an issue of setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at national level for MSOs, LCOs and consumers was discussed with the representatives of broadcasters a few days back. He wanted to know the status of setting up of such a system. The representative of IBF said it was working on it and would submit a proposed plan by 10 September 2016 to the Ministry.

    While reviewing the progress of the court cases pending in Delhi High Court with regard to cut off date of phase lll digitization, the representative of IBF said it had filed an application in the Hon’ble Delhi High Court to implead them in these cases.

    Regarding the public awareness campaign, the representative of the IBF said its members have already started the public campaign using 2 AV Spots provided by the Ministry. He also said scrolls are being planned by their members. The Chairperson emphasized the need for IBF members to develop their own AV Spots as had been done on earlier occasions.

    Also read:

    DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

  • DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

    DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

    NEW DELHI: Digitisation of Indian TV homes, thought to be the panacea for many ills afflicting the broadcasting and cable eco-system, may have slowed down in recent times, but the government is earnest in adhering to deadlines and has sought active involvement of industry bodies like the IBF and other stakeholders in pushing digitisation in laggard States through aggressive consumer education.

    At a meeting of the Task Force on Digital Addressable System (DAS) here yesterday, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) conveyed to all concerned that deadlines and goals posts would not be moved, even while it requested the Indian broadcasting Foundation (IBF) to be more pro-active in educating consumers and stakeholders about digitisation.

    Reports submitted by the various States on the progress with regard to the implementation of DAS in Phase IV showed that Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand were the three most backward states as far as digitisation go.

    The DAS Task Force meeting, held under the chairmanship of new MIB Additional Secretary Jayashree Mukherjee, was told by representative from Uttar Pradesh that cable operators in some districts had complained that digital signals were not available. MIB sought details so that the issue could be examined and resolved.

    Representatives of most other States present at the meeting reported satisfactory progress and claimed they were on track.

    The meeting, which was also addressed by MIB Advisor (DAS) Yogendra Pal and Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Sanjay Murthy, was apprised by representatives of broadcasters that they had stepped up publicity to create awareness about DAS in the Phase IV areas.

    Phase IV areas, needing approximately 75 million set-top boxes (STBs) as per industry estimates, mostly comprise rural India’s smaller hamlets and towns where selling the idea of digitisation and getting a STB at home itself is considered a challenging task by LCOs, MSOs and other stakeholders.

    Keeping this in mind, IBF was asked by the MIB to shoot off more publicity campaigns in addition to those given by the Ministry so that outreach initiatives could be stepped up further to reach the targeted segments.
    Joint-secretary Murthy apprised those present at the meeting that court cases related to DAS were coming up for hearing before the Delhi High Court early September 2016 and expressed the hope that the court would give a positive decision on the matter quickly.

    Meanwhile, advisor Pal asked MSOs to ensure that inter-connect agreements are signed with the broadcasters as MIB and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had reiterated. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) too had held that no signals could be supplied until proper inter-connect agreements were in place.

    The MSOs were asked to approach TRAI if they were facing any difficulty in arriving at agreements with broadcasters and LCOs.
    Mukherjee and Pal reiterated that there was no question of putting off the deadline of 31 December 2015 for Phase III as far as the government was concerned.

    The government reiterated that digitization of cable TV systems in the entire country would be — and should be — completed by 31 December 2016.

  • DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

    DAS Phase IV: IBF asked to up campaign in addition to MIB ads

    NEW DELHI: Digitisation of Indian TV homes, thought to be the panacea for many ills afflicting the broadcasting and cable eco-system, may have slowed down in recent times, but the government is earnest in adhering to deadlines and has sought active involvement of industry bodies like the IBF and other stakeholders in pushing digitisation in laggard States through aggressive consumer education.

    At a meeting of the Task Force on Digital Addressable System (DAS) here yesterday, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) conveyed to all concerned that deadlines and goals posts would not be moved, even while it requested the Indian broadcasting Foundation (IBF) to be more pro-active in educating consumers and stakeholders about digitisation.

    Reports submitted by the various States on the progress with regard to the implementation of DAS in Phase IV showed that Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand were the three most backward states as far as digitisation go.

    The DAS Task Force meeting, held under the chairmanship of new MIB Additional Secretary Jayashree Mukherjee, was told by representative from Uttar Pradesh that cable operators in some districts had complained that digital signals were not available. MIB sought details so that the issue could be examined and resolved.

    Representatives of most other States present at the meeting reported satisfactory progress and claimed they were on track.

    The meeting, which was also addressed by MIB Advisor (DAS) Yogendra Pal and Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Sanjay Murthy, was apprised by representatives of broadcasters that they had stepped up publicity to create awareness about DAS in the Phase IV areas.

    Phase IV areas, needing approximately 75 million set-top boxes (STBs) as per industry estimates, mostly comprise rural India’s smaller hamlets and towns where selling the idea of digitisation and getting a STB at home itself is considered a challenging task by LCOs, MSOs and other stakeholders.

    Keeping this in mind, IBF was asked by the MIB to shoot off more publicity campaigns in addition to those given by the Ministry so that outreach initiatives could be stepped up further to reach the targeted segments.
    Joint-secretary Murthy apprised those present at the meeting that court cases related to DAS were coming up for hearing before the Delhi High Court early September 2016 and expressed the hope that the court would give a positive decision on the matter quickly.

    Meanwhile, advisor Pal asked MSOs to ensure that inter-connect agreements are signed with the broadcasters as MIB and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had reiterated. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) too had held that no signals could be supplied until proper inter-connect agreements were in place.

    The MSOs were asked to approach TRAI if they were facing any difficulty in arriving at agreements with broadcasters and LCOs.
    Mukherjee and Pal reiterated that there was no question of putting off the deadline of 31 December 2015 for Phase III as far as the government was concerned.

    The government reiterated that digitization of cable TV systems in the entire country would be — and should be — completed by 31 December 2016.

  • K. Sanjay Murthy new MIB jt secy broadcasting

    K. Sanjay Murthy new MIB jt secy broadcasting

    NEW DELHI: There’s change at the top at India’s ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) in Shastri Bhawan. Joint secretary (films) K. Sanjay Murthy – who was holding additional charge of the broadcasting section along with another joint secretary Mihir Kumar Singh – was officially given complete charge of broadcasting on 29 August. He has taken over the work that was being handled by R. Jaya.

    As joint secretary films and he had made his mark with the initiatives he had taken which had benefited the Indian film community.

    Additionally, director (films) Anshu Sinha has been promoted as joint secretary (films). Earlier reports were that she would be replacing R. Jaya in the broadcasting section.

    Finally, Jayashree Mukherjee – from the Maharashtra IAS cadre – who was appointed as additional secretary mid-July has moved into her Shastri Bhawan office 20 days ago. A mild spoken lady, she replaced special secretary JS Mathur who was promoted as secretary Panchayati Raj.

    Both Mukherjee and Murthy have been given charge during challenging times. The countdown for the fourth phase of DAS has begun with the sunset date being 31 December 2016. Additionally, even phase III is stuck in the analogue mode courtesy a flurry of cases which have been filed in various courts.

  • K. Sanjay Murthy new MIB jt secy broadcasting

    K. Sanjay Murthy new MIB jt secy broadcasting

    NEW DELHI: There’s change at the top at India’s ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) in Shastri Bhawan. Joint secretary (films) K. Sanjay Murthy – who was holding additional charge of the broadcasting section along with another joint secretary Mihir Kumar Singh – was officially given complete charge of broadcasting on 29 August. He has taken over the work that was being handled by R. Jaya.

    As joint secretary films and he had made his mark with the initiatives he had taken which had benefited the Indian film community.

    Additionally, director (films) Anshu Sinha has been promoted as joint secretary (films). Earlier reports were that she would be replacing R. Jaya in the broadcasting section.

    Finally, Jayashree Mukherjee – from the Maharashtra IAS cadre – who was appointed as additional secretary mid-July has moved into her Shastri Bhawan office 20 days ago. A mild spoken lady, she replaced special secretary JS Mathur who was promoted as secretary Panchayati Raj.

    Both Mukherjee and Murthy have been given charge during challenging times. The countdown for the fourth phase of DAS has begun with the sunset date being 31 December 2016. Additionally, even phase III is stuck in the analogue mode courtesy a flurry of cases which have been filed in various courts.