NEW DELHI: No assessment on the impact of new tariff order (NTO 2.0) on the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati’s free DTH platform DD Free Dish has been carried out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), revealed I&B minister Prakash Javadekar in response to a question by Congress MP Manish Tewari in the parliament.

Tewari had asked whether TRAI has conducted an assessment of how regulations issued on 1 January 2020 impact the growth and popularity of Doordarshan’s Free Dish platform, to which Javadekar responded, “No such assessment has been conducted by TRAI.”

He also added that the main objectives of the regulatory framework are to establish a harmonised business process in the sector, ensure level playing field, bring in transparency in TV channel pricing, reduce litigations among stakeholders and provide equal opportunities to smaller multi-system operators (MSOs).

He also noted that TRAI notified the regulatory framework on 3 March 2017 for broadcasting and cable services after due consultation with the stakeholders. “In order to address the issues faced by the consumers, while balancing the interest of broadcasters as well as the distribution platform operators (DPOs) to create a level playing field, TRAI, after due consultation with the stakeholders, issued amendments to the regulatory framework for broadcasting and cable services sector on 01.01.2020.”