Indias Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is planning to put stringent entry-level restrictions on broadcasters launching new television channels, the Business Standard reports.
The move is to ensure only serious players enter the business and have effective use of the limited bandwidth available for broadcasting.
A top ministry official said: We have already asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to give its recommendations on the various criteria and conditions on the basis of which scarce resources will be given.
Currently, India has over 500 TV channels with another 70 requests for new channels pending approval. Another 50-60 channels have been given a licence but are not operational. The ministry has asked Trai to review the existing norms and prepare the minimum criterion for granting permission.
It said that Trai would also include conditions of commitment to run the channel for a certain number of years to protect against fly-by-night operators.
At the moment, broadcasters can get permission to run a new channel if they have a net worth of India Rupees $10 million (about US$21,600) for operating one channel and India Rupees $30 million (about US$64,800) for operating a bouquet of 15 channels.
The broadcasters also have to currently ensure they operate from India and the foreign direct investment is not more than 49 percent (26 percent in the case for a news channel). There are no other restrictions on them. (Source: ABU website)