NEW DELHI: There's good news for private FM radio players in the country.
 

The Radio Broadcast Policy Committee led by Ficci general secretary Amit Mitra, which submitted its recommendations to information and broadcasting minister R S Prasad today, has mooted 26 per cent FDI in the sector as well as a lift from the current ban on news and current affairs on private radio.

The panel, set up in September, has also asked the government to come out with a policy on satellite radio channel uplink, lacking thus far. The long pending demand of the FM players, that of a tender system instead of the auctioning of licenses for private FM also finds mention in the recommendations. The recommendations, if approved, would be applicable when the government decides to go in for the second phase of FM radio implementation in the country.

The panel has also suggested that the government get the existing FM projects vetted by financial institutions for their commercial viability. The panel has also mooted the formation of an independed broadcast regulator, which would bring the broadcast sector under its purview.