New Delhi : The Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service has hit another roadblock. Even as the information and broadcasting ministry had finalised the DTH draft more than two weeks ago and passed it on to the law ministry for vetting it, the law ministry has sought clarifications on the same.According to a senior official in the I&B Ministry, clarifications have been sought on some regulatory issues. The official, however, refused to elaborate on what these regulatory issues are. But the fact that the law ministry has sought clarifications suggests another round of delay in introducing DTH in the country.Even as the broadcasters, who are keen to set up or join the DTH platform, have been expecting a change in heart on the part of the government over the 20 per cent sectoral cap for broadcasters, the I&B official stated that there's no move to revise the sectoral cap.
After holding it back for years, the government had in-principle cleared the DTH proposal in October 2000. But, since then the I&B Ministry has been working and re-working on the DTH draft. It was in January 2001 that the I&B ministry lifted a ban on Ku band signals, paving the way for introduction of DTH. Following that, the I&B Ministry passed on the draft to the law ministry for vetting. Now the Law Ministry has sought clarifications from the I&B Ministry on the DTH draft, further delaying the process.
Several players including broadcasters such as Doordarshan, Star and Zee and non-broadcasters such as VSNL, MTNL and Sterling are among the prominent players who have shown interest in being part of the DTH venture.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
