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Tag: M Venkaiah Naidu

  • NDTV moves Delhi HC challenging CBI raids

    NEW DELHI: The Prannoy Roy family-promoted NDTV has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the raids conducted by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the residence of its promoters.

    In a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, the company said, “NDTV and its promoter company filed a writ in the Delhi High Court (on 6 July 2017) challenging the CBI raids and the FIR (first information report) issued by CBI. NDTV is pleased that the court has directed the CBI to submit a status report by 21 September, 2017.”

    The publicly traded company, which also at one time had investments from American company GE via a group media company for a venture, further informed the stock markets it would not like to comment on the matter further as it was “now sub- judice”.

    In June 2017, the CBI had raided the residence of the Roy family alleging that the promoters and a private company linked to the Roys, RRPR Holding Private Ltd, were involved in defrauding a private sector bank, ICICI Bank, and allegedly causing it losses involving loans extended in 2008.

    The raids had come within a few days after a female NDTV news anchor had politely ticked off a belligerent spokesperson from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the lead political party in the NDA government that rules the country, during a TV debate, which had prompted a large section of the Indian society, including the Roys, to dub the raids by federal investigating agency as a “witch hunt” against media not toeing a government-handed political narrative.

    Minister for information and broadcasting M. Venkaiah Nadu, however, last month had brushed aside criticism relating to government efforts to muzzle a free media saying the CBI raids and media freedom were two unconnected issues.

    For NDTV — considered a sort of media nursery for TV journalism in India after the country allowed in mid-1990s private sector players to enter the business of broadcasting dominated till then by pubcaster Doordarshan and All India Radio — this was not the first brush with controversy. Earlier also unsubstantiated allegations relating to financial misdeeds had been leveled against NDTV and some group companies.

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    News Broadcasters Association expresses concern over NDTV raids

    Update: No politics in raids at NDTV offices, CBI must have received some info, says Naidu

  • MIB minister cautions against unlicensed TV channels

    NEW DELHI: Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu while cautioning against transmission of unauthorized TV channels in the country said that content generation in local languages and dialects was important to reach out to communicate with people.

    Adopting innovative ways and leveraging new media in information dissemination was necessary to keep pace with the changing communication paradigm, the Minister stated Thursday while chairing a review meeting of regional media units of MIB.

    Stressing upon the need to ensure effective implementation of Cable TV Act in order to restrict airing of objectionable content and unauthorized channels, the Minister urged Union territories to appoint nodal officers to assist local administrators in this regard.

    During the review meeting, Naidu announced that the All India Radio would be commissioning of two new shortwave solid state digital transmitters of 100 kw power each for dissemination of content across the border for Afghanistan- Pakistan region by the end of August 2017. The transmitters shall be installed in Delhi.

    Those who were present during the meeting included junior MIB Minister Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Andaman & Nicobar Islands LG Jagdish Mukhi, MIB secretary N K Sinha and representatives from UTs.

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  • Information & broadcasting minister swears by pubcaster’s authenticity, and not aping pvt channels

    NEW DELHI: All-India Radio continues to be the most authentic source for news not only in India but also for those living outside the country and want to get news which true and not sensationalised, minister of information and broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu has said.

    Lauding the pubcaster for keeping away from the cacophony often created by private television channels with news that was often unsubstantiated, he said AIR continued to be the first choice for a majority of radio listeners not only for news but also for the variety of programming.

    Stressing that the government supported freedom of speech and expression, he warned against the dangers of disinformation. He regretted that even social media platforms and newspapers often deviated from truth.

    Fore detailed report, read here:

    All India Radio remains most authentic source of news within and outside India: Naidu

     

  • NK Sinha moves to I&B, Garg & Sundarajan are economic affairs & telecom secys

    MUMBAI: The Indian government, in a crucial move, has announced that the senior Bihar cadre IAS officer and culture secretary N K Sinha will take over as the secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting. Sinha will take over in the ministry headed by union minister M Venkaiah Naidu while the incumbent Ajay Mittal will be shifted as secretary DoPT, PTI reported.

    Fifteen new secretaries have been appointed to various central departments as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle. Subhash Chandra Garg, who is the executive director of the World Bank, will take over as the secretary of the department of economic affairs from Shaktikanta Das — who has retired.

    The other major appointments, approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, include Aruna Sundarajan, a Kerala cadre IAS officer, as the telecom secretary, and Ajay Kumar Bhalla, an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer, as Power Secretary. While Sundarajan was Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology, Bhalla is currently Director-General, Foreign Trade.

    The committee also gave its nod for the appointment of Rajiv Gauba, a Jharkhand cadre IAS officer, as the next Home Secretary. He will take over from Rajiv Mehrishi on August 30. Until then Gauba will serve as Officer on Special Duty in the Home Ministry.

    Meanwhile, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, an Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer, will be the new Electronics & IT Secretary. He was earlier Additional Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry. Yudhvir Singh Malik, a 1983 Haryana batch IAS officer, will be the new Road Transport and Highways Secretary. He was earlier NHAI’s Chairman.

  • NDTV raids not connected with press freedom, says South Asia scribes club

    NEW DELHI: Even as senior mediapersons rallied behind NDTV following raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation and several media bodies held protest meetings, the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia pointed out that the Government and CBI have said the raids had nothing to do with freedom of press.

    In a terse statement, the FCC also pointed out that the Press Club of India and other organisations had not invited it to join the protest rallies. However, it said ‘We are for the freedom of the press.”

    Information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu had last week denied any political interference in the CBI raids on NDTV’s Prannoy Roy, and said that the law would take its own course.

    The CBI had registered a case against the pioneers of Indian television NDTV founder Roy and Radhika Roy for causing an alleged loss to a bank. Searches were reportedly conducted at the residence of the Roys in New Delhi and three other places including Dehradun.

    Naidu had told reporters: “If somebody does something wrong, but simply because they belong to media, you cannot expect the government to keep quiet.”

    Stressing that the media is free and independent, he said the officials were doing their duty. “The CBI might have received some information. That is why they have taken action,” Naidu said.

    Also read :

    Update: No politics in raids at NDTV offices, CBI must have received some info, says Naidu

     

  • Maharashtra CM supports film industry’s demand for 18% GST

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the film industry that he will support the demand to lower the GST rate to 18% in the forthcoming GST Council meeting. At the same time, the state government also agreed to rationalise any additional entertainment tax likely to be imposed by the local bodies in the GST regime.

    Fadnavis was speaking during the consultation meeting held by the information and broadcasting ministry chaired by minister M Venkaiah Naidu with the film industry earlier this week in Mumbai.

    Fadnavis announced that the present licensing regime in the state will be removed and the model law for cinema licensing will be introduced within 60 days. He was referring to points made on Cinema licensing for new screens as well as modification of existing screens. He announced that the Single Window facilitation cell has been formed in the state for shooting of films, Television programmes and other audio-visual mediums.

    The meeting was held at the instance of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India to raise industry’s concerns on the adverse impact of the proposed GST rate of 28%. The industry representatives deliberated on various challenges and opportunities for the film industry including recommendations of the Shyam Benegal Committee for changes in the film certification process, taxation, scarcity of Cinema Screens and Piracy.

    On the issue of piracy, both the central and state governments completely endorsed the industry’s views on an immediate need to amend existing laws such as Information Technology, Cinematograph, and Copyright Acts to protect the legitimate rights of copyright owners.

    The film industry complimented the chief minister on the formation of Maharashtra Intellectual Property Crime Unit (‘MIPCU’) as an initiative to enforce strong anti-piracy measures.

    Guild President Siddharth Roy Kapur said: “A rate of 18% GST or lower on cinema tickets would be in line with global taxation norms for the film sector and would go a long way in ensuring the long-term health of the industry. The film industry is identified as a priority sector in many countries around the world and therefore not only are the tax rates on films usually lower than the national average, but in many countries the industry is also provided numerous incentives to drive growth and employment in the sector. I do hope our Central and State governments will look at the Indian film industry through a similar lens in the future.”

    He added: “I am delighted by the response from both the Maharashtra State and the Central Government in the meeting, with both the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra strongly supporting and endorsing our suggestions on various matters of concern, from GST to piracy to screen density. We are hopeful that their actions in the future will provide the much-needed impetus the Indian film industry needs, to realize its vast untapped potential.”

  • TRAI keeping watch over Arasu, TN MSO extends digital hardware bids deadline

    NEW DELHI: The government and the regulator are keeping a close watch on Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation to see whether it sticks to the deadline of three months to digitise its networks even as the state government-controlled MSO extended the date for submission of bids for acquiring digital headend hardware to 9 June 2017.

    A source at the regulator TRAI told indiantelevision.com that it was “watching” to see how the situation developed in Tamil Nadu, adding that it would step in if the situation demanded it.

    Arasu was given a provisional digital addressable system MSO license earlier this year subject to the condition that it digitises its network within three months so it could phase out analogue TV signals and be at par with the rest of the country. The official sunset date of analogue services in India was 31 December 2016, which was extended to end-March 2017 by the government keeping in view some hiccups in seeding digital boxes in rural and semi-urban areas.

    According to an official announcement by Arasu, which is running a scroll on its website, the last date for a global tender for supply of standard definition (SD), high definition (HD), triple play STBs, etc has been extended to 9 June 2017 from 29 May 2017. Arasu plans to acquire 70 million digital addressable STBs of which 10 million will be HD boxes.

    Though the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has at least three times in the last decade expressed a view that political parties, politicians and state governments, amongst a host of other category of people, should not be allowed to get into the business of broadcasting or distribution of TV services, successive governments, including the present one, have dithered to take a final call on the regulator’s suggestions.

    While handing out provisional license to Arasu earlier this year, the union minister M Venkaiah Naidu had said the conditional green signal was given with an aim to cover the entire country under DAS and specifically done in “public interest”.

  • Sports promotion: Rathore averse to leaning on govt

    NEW DELHI: Becoming an achiever gives a different spirit to one’s personality. But, even accepting a challenge is strength in itself even if one loses.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore, a former shooting champion, said this at the concluding session of the one-day Sports Conclave organized by Doordarshan Sports to discuss ways in which India can become a sports superpower.

    It was telecast live by interlinking various kendras throughout the day on 28 May 2017. The meet held at the Central Production Centre of Doordarshan in south Delhi had several experts including sports writers and even former sportspersons discussing various subjects.

    It was inaugurated in the morning by Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and discussions also featured Union sports minister Vijay Goel and sports ministers of different states apart from eminent sports personalities.   

    To a question, Rathore said sports had to be adaptable and this was evident from the way it had adapted to television. “Use the situation to your advantage and you will find kids are always ready to play.”
     
    Rathore also said that a sportsperson could only succeed if he had family support if one wanted to choose sports as a career. At the same time, it was not necessary to depend on the government for everything. As an example, he said he encouraged the people in his constituency to create a kabaddi team and was surprised when even girls volunteered.

    Not merely that, he found some people on their own volunteering either to create smooth grounds, or mow the grass, or do other things that they did on their own. But, all this needed behavioral change and the will power and administrative capability.

    To to a question, he said that he had found that as a sportsperson he had tended to become a little eccentric.

    The second session Edit Page had eminent sports writers from different publications.
    The third session ‘State’ of the Nation had four sports ministers of different states: Chetan Chauhan (Uttar Pradesh); Anil Vij (Haryana), Yashodhara Raje Scindia (Madhya Pradesh), and Arvind Pandey (Uttarakhand).

    The next session on ‘India mai hai dum’ featured five figures from the world of badminton from Hyderabad, Jameshedpur, Calicut, Agartala, Pune and other centres of excellence. It was conducted by Ms Ashwini Poonappa.

    This was followed by a session on Indian Sports = Today and Tomorrow at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

    The Making of the Olympians moderated by the renowned Ashwini Nachappa at Central Production Centre Delhi and Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati saw the participation of eminent sportspersons.

    Vision 2020 and 2024 at CPC Delhi featured a discussion anchored by Ashwini Nachappa which had Baldev Singh from the Prime Minister’s Task Force, and TFA and Sports Head Mukul Vinayak Choudhari.

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  • DD committed to truthful information & wholesome entertainment: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said the Government planned to enhance the reach of Doordarshan FreeDish by distributing Free DD direct-to-home boxes in remote and interior areas of the country through State Governments, especially in the LWE impacted areas.

    He said the Ministry would be giving 10,000 DTH boxes to Chattisgarh for distribution in the LWE areas.

    He claimed that DD FreeDish was the largest free DTH Service available to the people in the country and reached more than 22 million homes.

    Stressing that Doordarshan was committed to truthful information and wholesome entertainment, Naidu was speaking at the release of 14 Short Films produced by DD showcasing the success stories under the various Flagship Schemes of the Government which had positively impacted people’s lives and had brought a transformational change in the country.

    Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash and DD Director General Suprya Sahu were also present.

    He said the films had successfully portrayed the underlying development narrative through testimonials from the beneficiaries at the field level all across the country.

    Naidu said these films would be showcased on all Doordarshan channels in Hindi and all other Indian languages with the purpose to motivate and inspire others also to use the benefits under various Flagship Schemes of the Government. Such films would also be used by all other Media units of this Ministry to enhance outreach across media platforms.

    The following themes have been covered in the short films produced by Doordarshan.
    1. Mission Indradhanush
    2. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna and Soil Health Card
    3. Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas
    4. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
    5. Skill India
    6. Beti Bachao Beto Padhao
    7. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna
    8. Kaushal Bharat Kushal Bharat
    9. Pradahn Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna
    10. National Solar Mission under Ujjwal Bharat

  • National sports meet to see participation of government and sports persons

    NEW DELHI: A day-long Conclave is to inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu tomorrow (28 May 2017) to discuss ways in which India can become a sports superpower.

    Organised by Doordarshan Sports, the meet being held at the Central Production Centre of Doordarshan in south Delhi and other venues will have several experts including sports writers and even former sportspersons discussing various subjects.

    The concluding session will be addressed by Minister of State for I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore.

    The programme will be live on DD Sports channel.

    The first session being addressed by Naidu will be in will Delhi and Varanasi.

    The second session Edit Page will have Rahul Banerjee from Asian Age, Ayaz Memon who is a sports expert, Shantanu Guha Roy of CEN (Vienna), and Ms Neeru Bhatia of The Week.

    The third session ‘State’ of the Nation will have four Sports Ministers of different states: Chetan Chauhan (Uttar Pradesh); Anil Vij (Haryana), Ms Yashodhara Raje Scindia (Madhya Pradesh), and Arvind Pandey (Uttarakhand).

    The next session on ‘India mai hai dum’ will feature five figures from the world of badminton from Hyderabad, Jameshedpur, Calicut, Agartala, Pune and other centres of excellence. It will have the National Bandminton coach P Gopi Chand with Ms P V Sindhu, P Kashyap, K Srikanth, and Ms Ashwini Poonappa.

    This will followed by a half-hour documentary on the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi Government.

    This will be followed by a session on Indian Sports = Today and Tomorrow at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. This will have Adil Summariwala of the Athletics Federation of India, Ms Elena Norman from Hockey India, Kushal Das of the All India Football Federation, and Col. Amarbir Singh of the All India Tennis Federation.

    The Making of the Olympians moderated by renowned Ms Ashwini Nachappa at Central Production Centre Delhi and Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati will see the participation of Vijender Singh and Ms M C Marykom from the field of boxing, Sandeep Singh and Jagbir Singh from hockey, Sushil Kumar (wrestling), Gymnastics Coach B Nandi with Dipa Karmakar, Jayanta Talukdar from archery, Thangboi Singto (Lajong FC), a member of the Aizawl Football Club which was the I-League Champion, Ms Karnam Malleshwari (weightlifting), Khazan Singh (swimming) and para athlete Deepa Malik.

    This will be followed by ‘Real Heroes’ become ‘Reel Heroes’ by Doordarshan Kendra Mumbai.

    Vision 2020 and 2024 at CPC Delhi will be discussed by Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel, Om Pathak and Baldev Singh from the Prime Minister’s Task Force, and TFA and Sports Head Mukul Vinayak Choudhari.

    This will be followed by the final session with Rathore who is himself a former sportsperson.