Prasar Bhartis' funding to be cut by 50 percent

In a move aimed at making the public broadcaster self-dependent, the government is all set to reduce the financial support to Prasar Bharati by half starting this fiscal. This effectively means Prasar Bharati will now get annually around Rs. 600 crore less from the government going forward and it will have to fend for itself to meet the shortfall.

The government move will effectively reduce by half the non-plan outlay component given to Prasar Bharati from the budgetary allocations of the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry. The non-plan support to Prasar Bharati accounts for over 62 percent of the total budgetary allocations of the I&B ministry. A reduction in financial support to Prasar Bharati will also mean that the budgetary allocations of the I&B ministry will also reduce accordingly.

However, this move became inevitable as the gross budgetary support to the I&B ministry for the 11th Plan period (2007-2012) has already overshot the allocated amount of Rs. 5,439 crore, with two more fiscal years to go. Till now, Prasar Bharati gets the government support under three heads'grants-in-aid, loans and investments in public enterprises. The grant consists of plan and non-plan funds. Following the GoM decision, the government will reduce the non-plan allocation by half while it will continue to support Prasar Bharati through plan funding and loans.

Dedicated broadcast regulator on the cards

The I&B ministry has begun the process of creating a dedicated broadcast authority to look after all the aspects of the business of broadcasting including the radio sector. This authority, several names for which are already under final consideration of the I&B ministry, will act as a regulator and a focus centre for broadcast related aspects including content, carriage, distribution, tariff, foreign investments, licensing among others.

This has become a necessity as the broadcast sector has seen a double-digit growth in recent years. The broadcast sector is growing at a healthy rate. It is expected to grow even faster in the future. The I&B ministry believes that there is a requirement of a dedicated broadcast authority or a body which will look at every possible aspect of the sector.

TRAI caps cable tariff at Rs. 250 for all channels

Consumers will have to pay up to Rs 250 plus taxes a month to watch a complete bouquet of channels on cable television, though operators have the option to charge lesser, says a proposal that is expected to get the government's blessings as early as next week.

The proposal to cap cable tariffs was part of a broad consensus that emerged at a meeting between industry representatives and telecom regulator TRAI. The new price ceiling was proposed after a survey of 22 non-CAS cities commissioned by Trai revealed that consumers are against paying more for better services through digitisation.

Under the new proposal, a consumer will have to pay Rs. 100 to watch free-to-air channels and a maximum Rs. 250 plus taxes to access paid channels across the country. Equally significant is the compulsory digitisation plan, which could lead to an overhaul of the cable industry. Small operators with analogue cable systems will be forced to either sell out to large operators or upgrade networks. Large national cable operators such as Hathway, DEN Networks, Digicable, Incablenet and WWIL stand to benefit with a sharp gain in subscribers. A long-standing demand of digital cable operators, this would mean DTH service providers, digital cable firms and IPTV service providers will pay the same price to television channels.