Growing number of TV channels worries I&B

Concerned over the growing number of television channels and lack of availability of spectrum, the I&B ministry has asked
broadcast regulator Trai to assess whether the existing regulation needs to be made more stringent. The move comes at a time when the ministry has also received complaints from state ministers and elected representatives on some channels being run as fly-by-night operations. I&B secretary Raghu Menon has written to the Trai chairman to explore the possibility of additional qualifications being added in the uplinking and downlinking norms that will ensure financial viability of channels. ‘‘As a matter of abundant caution, the ministry has brought it to the notice of Trai to evaluate the situation,’’ a ministry source said. The government is considering possible amendments to the guidelines that will ensure that greater attention is paid to antecedents of channels’ promoters.

- TOI