MUMBAI: Indian cable TV operators and MSOs had better watch out. The information and broadcasting ministry is looking at strict enforcement of its earlier notification which mandates the carriage of 20 DD and Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV channels to all their subscribers in cities where digitisation has been implemented. Some channels of the pubcaster and the two parliament channels have to be carried mandatorily on non-digitsed cable TV networks also.

This is one of the first commands that has been fired by the new information & broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, following a meeting with bureaucrats in Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi over the weekend. Apparently, the issue of DD channel carriage came up in the meeting and Naidu told the officials to crack the whip.

The ministry and the pubcaster have in the past too attempted to have the MSOs and cable TV operators follow the mandate, but many have not complied

In his meeting on Friday, according to a PTI report, Naidu also directed I&B ministry officials to prepare a comprehensive policy on information and communication at the earliest. The policy will specify roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders to maximise the communication outreach to the people.

On Sunday, Naidu expressed unhappiness over the fact that sensationalism has been getting precedence on news outlets over news about the country’s developmental initiatives.

He has also asked the media to be constructive and added that he would be engaging and interacting with media, media owners and editors over the next few days. “The agenda of the country should be development,” he stated in a PTI report.