[icernet] Govt Taking A Relook At DTH Guidelines

[Arul Selvan]

  The government is taking a relook at the Direct-to-Home (DTH) 
broadcasting guidelines, according to the information and broadcasting 
minister, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad. On whether some of the DTH guidelines 
would be changed, he refused to comment, adding that review and 
relook are quite distinct from each other. But, a meeting of group of 
ministers (GoM) is expected to recommend an increase in the foreign 
direct investment (FDI) in DTH operations. The GoM is likely to 
recommend a 49 per cent FDI cap in DTH, up from the current 20 per cent.

It may be recalled that broadcasters had earlier asked for a relaxation 
in the sectoral cap and foreign holding limit in DTH. But, the 
government had so far refused to give in to their demands. In 
direct-to-home, theres a sectoral cap of 20 per cent for broadcasters, 
and the total foreign investment permitted is 49 per cent (20 per cent 
FDI and the remaining in institutional and NRI investments). Two 
applicationsSpace TV and Agraniare pending with the government for 
starting DTH operations.

Source:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=28516