Government sources confirmed the possibility of Swaraj's return to the I&B ministry, saying that it may be part of the next cabinet reshuffle.

With her return, pending issues such as the Broadcasting Bill and the controversial Prasar Bharati Act may see the light of the day, feel experts. They feel that Swaraj may be instrumental in striking some sort of an agreement with the opposition parties on Prasar Bharati and see the smooth sailing of the Broadcasting Bill in the budget session.

Swaraj's exit from the I&B ministry earlier saw work on both the Broadcasting Bill and Prasar Bharati come to a halt. The appointment of Prasar Bharati's chief executive officer, chairman and three other key members is still awaited.

Further, the entire broadcasting sector is looking forward to the enactment of the Broadcasting Bill so that the legalparameters for players are well defined.

Though the I&B ministry is ready with the homework it is awaiting a political decision on crucial issues such as foreign equity limit, cross-service restrictions and direct-to-home broadcasting.

The cable industry has been crying foul over the absence of an act to protect their interests.

Significantly, the subject of 100 per cent foreign equity in new ventures in advertising, announced by Swaraj earlier, has also been ruled out by the ministry in her absence.

Her decision to allow 74 per cent foreign equity in television software companies and uplinking ventures in the second phase was successful in wooing foreign players to the broadcasting sector. But ever since her exit, precious little has been done on these subjects.

While Swaraj may get her I&B portfolio back, it would be interesting to see what happens to the union communications ministry which she was holding additional charge of. There are rumours that Swaraj is in race with Pramod Mahajan for thepost.

There are speculations that the communications ministry may be offered to one of the allies of the BJP. The forthcoming cabinet reshuffle assumes significance as the BJP is likely to accommodate Jaswant Singh, Saheb Singh Verma and some of its allies.