“The broadcasters will be able to see where their applications are, and how they are being processed. And that will make it much simpler,” said Apurva Chandra, Secretary, MIB, during his keynote address at the APOS India Summit, organised by Media Partners Asia.
He added that the changes in the uplinking and downlinking guidelines for the sector are also under the consideration of the government.
“It will make the rules simpler and bring about some ease of doing business… both these things are under construction as a government. The first will be done in the next three months, and the next will also be completed in the next three to four months, ” he said.
On the concerns of the industry, he said that the ministry is open to the idea of having a member from the broadcasting sector as an external member of TRAI.
“We have got a request as of now that a part-time member should be nominated from the broadcasting sector in the TRAI, and we are open to any suggestions from the industry,” he said. “A suitable person can be considered for nomination to TRAI.”
On the question of a separate regulator for the sector and a unified national policy, he said that as of now, TRAI has been designated as the regulator of the broadcasting sector. However, he added that the industry is not one cohesive whole and a national policy will require a “larger debate.”
“There are many views and opinions and whether all (the sectors) can come under one common policy is to be seen. I think it’ll require a much larger, deeper debate. There will be some winners and some losers, and we will have to take into account everyone’s concerns,” he said.
