In a move that should provide a boost for serious players in the direct-to-home (DTH) telecast arena like Star, the government yesterday indicated that it might not press for making it mandatory for foreign television channels to uplink from India.

Information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, in a written statement in Parliament on Friday, said since the convergence bill was still at the drafting stage, it was not possible to say whether it would have any provision for compulsory uplinking of foreign channels.

As per the DTH notification issued in March on the ground rules for companies wanting to enter DTH in India, any licensee will have to establish an uplink earth station in India within 12 months from the date of issue of license. All content provided by the DTH platform to the subscribers, irrespective of its source, will have to pass through the common encryption and conditional access system, located within the Earth Station, situated on Indian soil, the notification states.