NEW DELHI: Around 240 applications for new television channels are pending at various stages of clearances in consultation with various Departments/Ministries.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that action had been taken in 97 cases in the past three years and the current year wherein the channels were issued warnings /advisory/ directive to run apology scroll or taken off air in a few case for a period ranging from 1-10 days.  

The sources said that permission holder companies are reviewed from time to time for compliances of Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines and action is taken whenever such violations of guidelines are brought to the notice of the Government.

The Ministry announced last week that the number of permitted satellite television channels has gone up marginally to 826 with five new channels getting cleared during December 2014.
The number of channels in November-end was 821 as compared to 798 in July following streamlining of clearance procedures by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The cleared channels include one news channel taking the total to 405 news and current affairs channels and four non-news channels taking the total to 421 general entertainment channels.

The statistics show that 697 channels (including 382 news channels) are permitted to uplink and downlink from within the country, and 36 (including seven news channels) are uplinked from India for beaming overseas and not in the country. There is no change in channels uplinked from overseas and downlinked into India with the number remaining static at 93 (including 16 news channels).