[icernet] Home Ministry's comments awaited for uplinking foreign TV news

[Arul Selvan]

  Information and Broadcasting Ministry is awaiting "comments" from the 
Home Ministry for providing uplinking facilities to foreign Television 
news channels from Indian soil, outgoing Information and Broadcasting 
Minister Sushma Swaraj said. Swaraj had earlier said that Government's 
decision on the Star TV proposal for permission to uplink from Indian 
soil will apply to all news channels with foreign equity. News channels 
uplinking from India would have to adhere to the foreign equity cap 
stipulated by the Government in case it decides on changes in the 
present policy on uplinking. Swaraj said that there were 77 channels 
uplinked from the country and "every day we are getting 
applications".        She said that the Government's decision to allow 
FDI in non-news and non-current affairs would bring about a boom in the 
print industry.

PTI
30 Jan 2003