NEW DELHI: The Informationa and Broadcasting Ministry has issued notice to Punjabi news channel PTC for violating rules by telecasting campaigning of candidates for the Delhi Gurdwara polls even after it officially ended.

The I&B Ministry has asked PTC to reply in three days.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) polls were held yesterday and the campaigning ended on 25 January. The channel telecast campaigning by candidates on 26 January.

According to the Ministry, "The channel violated the model code by telecasting the campaigning the whole day. This was in violation of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and Rules."

The DSGMC polls were held to elect a 46-member house that would manage the Sikh shrines as well as a number of educational and health institutions in the national capital.

NEW DELHI: The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to set up an independent adjudicatory body to arbitrate in cases of violations of codes made by television broadcasters and also provide for graded financial penalties depending on the severity of breaches.

BCCC chairman Justice K L Shah said fines should be substantial in case of serious violations, and not merely token fines. For this, the BCCC has suggested appropriate amendments to Clause 10.2 of the uplinking guidelines.

The BCCI said suspension and revocation of licence of television channels that violate the various codes must be resorted to in exceptional circumstances and only in cases of repeated and extremely severe violations.

The gradation of ?violations? should range from mild to severe and as a general practice, sanctions imposed should be in the nature of fines and directions for correction, the BCCC has conveyed to I&B Ministry.

It said sanctions under Clause 8.2 and Clause 10.2 of the uplinking guidelines should be imposed only in cases of repeated and extremely severe violations. Clause 8.2 provides for prohibition of broadcast for up to 30 days for the first violation, for 90 days for the second violation and for the remaining period of the permission in case of third violation.

Clause 10.2 provides that renewal of permission will not be considered if a channel is found guilty of violations, including that of the programme and advertisement code on five occasions or more.

The suggestions by BCCC say that factors that should be accounted for to determine the severity of the violation include degree of breach (extent and the severity); duration of breach (time period for which the breach was alive); harm caused (whether any injury has been caused to the objectives of the restrictions); reversibility of the harm (whether the harm can be corrected through any measures); and measures taken for correction of the breach by the broadcaster.

The BCCC also said the decision of the relevant adjudicatory body pertaining to the imposition of fines, issuance of directions, suspension and/or revocation of the license, should be made appealable.

The decision of the adjudicatory body should be in consultation with the relevant self-regulatory bodies on a case-to-case basis, to determine the degree and extent of the violation by the broadcaster.

In suggestions sent on Tuesday to the I&B Ministry, the BCCC said while passing the relevant order of sanction, the deciding authority should consider whether the self-regulatory bodies have already taken cognisance of the violation and whether any penalty has been imposed before arriving at its decision. In any case, any decision should be in ?effective consultation? with the self-regulatory bodies, the BCCC said.

Justice Shah said the council had taken a serious note of complaints relating to women and children and issued advisories in this regard. ?Broadcasters should strictly avoid showing children below the age of 12 dancing to item numbers. The treatment of children during the course of the programme is also important. Stereotyping of women should be discouraged in TV programmes.?

The BCCC was set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation in June 2011 as an independent body for general entertainment channels. The BCCC came into being after consultations between the IBF and the I&B Ministry to implement ?Self-Regulatory Guidelines and Complaints Redressal Mechanism? for all television channels, excluding news and current affairs channels. The general entertainment channels, children?s channels and special interest channels are covered by the BCCC.

IBF President Man Jit Singh said, ?Self-regulation is the most appropriate way to handle content on television. The BCCC is a truly independent council that looks into complaints from all over the country. The broadcasters take all recommendations, directions and advisories of the BCCC very seriously and will continue to support the council?s efforts.?

BCCC Member and noted actor Shabana Azmi said: ?Freedom of speech and expression, especially artistic freedom, is very important and a democratic right. This freedom, however, comes with responsibility, and this is where BCCC plays an important role. At BCCC, we hear the channels when serious complaints come before us. We are happy to say that there has been full compliance of the BCCC?s directives by the member channels.?

IBF Vice President Rajat Sharma said, ?The BCCC is a credible and successful system of self-regulation that has been functioning for 21 months now. It has done good work and we are sure it will continue to do so.?

BCCC Member Bhaskar Ghose said, ?At present, debates relating to content and similar issues cater only to a defined audience. We feel its scope needs to be expanded with fruitful participation of a much wider audience in society.?

Rise in complaint cases

Justice Shah noted that there has been a rapid increase in the number of complaints being handled by BCCC in view of the various measures implemented by the IBF?s member channels and the increased awareness amongst the Indian television audience.

The council is focused on timely disposal of complaints it receives from viewers, civil society, RWAs and the Ministry in its endeavour to make television viewing a pleasurable experience in the fast-evolving Indian social milieu.

Till 30 November 2012, BCCC had received 8628 complaints and suggestions, including 1072 specific complaints, and it has disposed of an overwhelming number of these to the satisfaction of complainants.

BCCC has issued seven advisories so far to member channels on different topics of concern.

The BCCC has also held two interactive sessions with channel heads/ standards & practices heads / content heads to develop a better understanding about the IBF?s self-regulatory guidelines and to make television content suitable for unrestricted viewing. Such sessions would also be held in other parts of the country.

NEW DELHI: With the entire process of FM radio Phase III auctions getting delayed due to various reasons, the government has decided to give more time to FM Phase II operators to migrate to Phase III.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has extended the last date of signing the Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) from 31 December to 30 June 2013.

Thus operators wanting to migrate to Phase-III regime can now execute the GOPA by 30 June 2013.

Some radio broadcasters say that this extension is a clear indication that the process for the phase III auctions will be delayed.

Earlier this year, a total of 25 broadcasting companies had applied for migrating from FM Radio Phase II to FM Radio Phase III.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said these included Reliance Broadcast, Asianet Radio, BAG Infotainment, HT Media, Malayala Manorama, Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd., Radio Mid-Day West (India) Ltd., Mathrubhumi, Sun TV Network and Udaya FM.

Others are Clear Media (India) Pvt Ltd., Entertainment Network India Ltd., Gwalior Farms Pvt Ltd., India Radio Ventures Pvt Ltd., Kal Radio Ltd., Malar Publications, Muthoot Broadcasting Pvt Ltd., PCM Cement Concrete Pvt Ltd., Purvy Broadcasts Pvt Ld., Digital Radio Broadcasting Ltd., Raneka Fincom Pvt Ltd., South Asia FM Ltd., D B Corp Ltd., Syntech Informatics Pvt Ltd., and Puran Multimedia Ltd.

The government had earlier decided to commence e-auctions from December this year over a period of three years to increase the number of private FM radio channels from the present 245 to around 839 covering another 227 cities having population of over 100,000.

Even as the Government has said that private FM radio channels will be permitted to carry news bulletins of All India Radio in unaltered form, it has been clarified that broadcast relating to subjects like sporting events, traffic and weather will be treated as non-news and will therefore be permissible.

Other subjects coming under non-news and current affairs are coverage of cultural events, festivals, coverage of topics pertaining to examinations, results, admissions, career counseling, availability of employment opportunities, and public announcements pertaining to civic amenities like electricity, water supply, natural calamities, health alerts etc. as provided by the local administration.

NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has forwarded to the Home Ministry a representation alleging misuse of the national anthem by Colors TV channel for promotion of a reality show.

The representation had been received from advocate Jeetender Gupta, alleging that Colors TV channel is misusing national anthem for promoting a reality show in theatres, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said.

Gupta had also filed a writ petition in the High Court. "The High Court disposed off the case by stating that the representation made to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should be looked into by the concerned ministry - the Ministry of Home Affairs," Tewari said.

MUMBAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has received 750 complaints of paid news during the state assembly elections in the current year, Information & Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said.

In comparison, the ECI had received 155 complaints of paid news during the state assembly elections last year.
Tewari also informed that the Press Council of India (PCI) has received nine complaints of paid news this year compared to 17 in the previous.

"The Press Council of India (PCI), an autonomous body to maintain and improve the standards of press, received 17 complaints of paid news in the year 2009-10, two complaints in the year 2010-11 and 11 complaints in 2011-12 and nine complaints till date in the current year," Tewari said in a statement laid in the Lok Sabha.

In response to another question, Tewari told the Lok Sabha that Doordarshan had earned Rs 865.7 million from the auction of slots on its direct-to-home (DTH) platform to free-to-air channels in the year 2011-12.

NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has reiterated that he is in favour of self-regulation and ?reviews should be done by industry bodies without too much of governmental influence?.

The governmental cannot play big brother in every field, the Minister said, while responding to a question about the Film Federation of India choosing a film for the Oscars.

Self-regulation is part of the government?s role in safeguarding the fundamental freedom of the people, Tewari said in an informal chat with mediapersons.

The Government will therefore interfere only if there is a major aberration, he said.

Meanwhile, Ministry sources said the Minister has decided to give priority to gaming and animation sectors as he sees them as potential work generating industries.

The sources also said that the government is working expeditiously on ensuring that the auctions for FM Radio Phase III commence within this financial year. Certain issues raised by stakeholders are being ironed out, the sources said.

Referring to cross-media ownership, the sources said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India which is studying the report of the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, on this subject had sought certain clarifications from the Ministry. These clarifications have been provided and Trai is expected to finalise its report soon, the sources said.