I&B considers adult content on TV

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is planning to implement ‘watershed hours’ for adult content and a parental lock system for television. The proposal for introducing a parental lock system and watershed hours came up during I&B Minister Ambika Soni's recent meetings with representatives of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and News Broadcasters Association (NBA), the PTI said, quoting top sources in the ministry. Soni is reportedly keen that these norms should be implemented in India as they are followed globally.

The issue has been raised time and again by the broadcasters, but a general consensus has not yet formed between them and the government. As the two parties are fine tuning the content code, it will still take some time. "With a majority of Indian families still being single television set owners having elderly members, the minister is of the view that such provisions would help make television viewing a pleasant experience for them," a senior ministry official told PTI. The broadcasters have been suggested by the ministry that under the system, parents would be able to lock certain channels, which they think should not be viewed by children belonging to a certain age group. The minister has suggested broadcasters to introduce watershed hours for adult programmes, where adult content could be shown between 11 pm and 4 am on television.

-Indiantelevision