New I&B guidelines: TV channels to have 30 minutes of public service broadcasting

Except foreign channels downlinked in the country, all private TV channels may now undertake public service broadcasting for at least 30 minutes every day on themes of “national importance and of social relevance”, as per new guidelines notified on Wednesday.

Notified by the ministry of information and broadcasting, the guidelines for uplinking and downlinking of satellite television channels in India replace norms notified in 2011 and introduce several major changes.

Any TV channel that uplinks from India but is only meant for foreign viewership must preserve its content for at least 90 days “for monitoring purposes” as against the previously stipulated period of six months. Foreign channels are now allowed to uplink from Indian teleports. 

The guidelines also recognise devotional channels as a new category which “predominantly” broadcast “devotional/spiritual/yoga content”. Such channels will not have to pay any fee for live telecasts while national non-news channels have to pay Rs 1 lakh per channel per day to live telecast an event. Regional channels have to pay Rs 50,000 per channel per day for such telecasts. 

In addition, recognised channels no longer require permission for live uplinking of non-news events. They just need to have prior registration. They also no longer need to take permission to change language or to change from standard definition to high definition; they only need to inform the ministry of such changes.

The ministry will receive, process and transmit applications and communications to and from prospective and current TV channels via Broadcast Seva, an online portal it launched in April this year. Depending on the nature of permission sought and by whom, approvals will be required from the ministry of home affairs, department of space and ministry of external affairs. 

News channels will now also have to register the electronic news gathering services they use for uplinking content with the ministry. This includes any “electronic technologies” that allow a reporter to report from a remote location outside the TV studio using “cellular network/internet/leased line or any other medium/equipment (including bag pack)”. 

The permission period for a news agency has been increased from one year to five years. The guidelines also require that free-to-air channels, other than those in C-band, encrypt their uplinking signal. 

Similar to the uplinking guidelines of 2011, channels need to ensure that their content does not include anything against the “sovereignty, integrity and national security of India as well as its friendly relations with other countries”.