The aim of the meeting is to discuss issues relating to set-top boxes, a necessary accessory once the conditional access system which the government, particularly I&B minister Sushma Swaraj, is keen to bring about, is implemented. A senior BIS official told indiantelevision.com today that the 12 July meeting (to be held a day after the apex body of electronics goods manufacturers, CETMA, holds a seminar on the TV industry with broadcasting industry representations) will discuss the various comments which had been invited on the technical parameters set by BIS for manufacturing of set-top boxes and decide the future course of action.
According to the BIS official, the feedback on the draft standards and specifications circulated earlier has been "favourable and positive." "Most of the feedback has agreed to what we had said with few suggestions coming on some minor technical issues," the official said, adding: "Hopefully by mid-August, BIS would be able to finalise the document which will be the industry standard." However, before CAS is implemented, certain amendments in the Cable TV (Networks) Regulation Act, 1995, facilitating CAS, will need the nod from the Indian Parliament‘s Upper House (Rajya Sabha) where the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government does not have a majority.

I&B ministry sources have indicated that the passage of the Cable TV Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha would be fairly easy during the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin later this month. However, critics maintain that despite the I&B ministry‘s optimism, certain politicians in the government have not been in favour of CAS.

The BIS official also added that the decoding technique of each channel as and when CAS is implemented would be "proprietary in nature" where the broadcasters will exercise control through the multi-system operators.

 campaign to ward off the AIDS epidemic in India was flagged off on 2 July by the BBC World Service Trust, the NGO arm of the BBC World Service, in partnership with Prasar Bharati and the National AIDS Control Organisation.
Claiming that this is the world‘s most intensive broadcast campaign, the BBC says that for the next 10 months, the partnership will transmit:

- A detective drama ‘Jasoos Vijay‘. It will air thrice a week on regional Doordarshan stations, with an omnibus edition on DD National
- A weekly youth show called ‘Haath Se Haath Milaa‘
- ‘Chat Chowk‘ which will be a weekly radio phone-in

In addition to the above, social advertising spots will run three times every day on television and radio for the duration of the campaign. The USP of the project is that it uses the popular medium of entertainment to convey information and combat prejudice about AIDS, an official release informs.

The two-year project is funded by the Department for International Development, the British Government‘s aid ministry, as part of their much larger commitment to combating AIDS in India. The BBC project is budgeted at ?4 million (about Rs 260 million). The campaign will stress the need for protection and safe sex and will aim to increase knowledge and awareness and generate more informed opinion. At the same time, it aims at enhancing life skills in communication, negotiation and advocacy by challenging practices and stigma and discrimination.

The NACO-Prasar Bharati-BBC World Service Trust partnership will raise AIDS awareness in the low prevalence states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. By promoting behaviour change, including condom use, in these states, the objective is to contain the epidemic before it takes hold. In return for programming, production funds, training and workshops, Prasar Bharati has contributed producer time, in-house technical facilities and airtime to the project.