Broadcasters should practice self-regulation: Govt

While keeping its door open for deliberations with broadcasters for finding ways to improve content creation, government today indicated that it was all for media practising self-regulation.

While keeping its door open for deliberations with broadcasters for finding ways to improve content creation, government today indicated that it was all for media practising self-regulation.

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"Broadcasters should practice self-regulation. We are in talks with broadcasters on how to device ways to improve content creation. However, I would like to clarify that even as our discussions continue, the government does not favour imposing any law or ban on media and self-regulation should be their first step," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said.

While inaugurating an exhibition on broadcast engineers today, she said "as Doordarshan is the official broadcaster of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and it would be showing the event on high definition (HD) format, HDTV has to be and is going to be in place before the Games commences".

Underlining the importance of shifting to digital mode if India has to compete with other nations in the field of broadcasting, Soni said "many countries in the world have switched to digital mode of broadcasting, India is still dependent on analog system of transmission and therefore, there should be a deadline for such a shift".

"... India has not officially declared its switch over date (to digital broadcasting). We are looking at sometime around 2017 to do so, but as yet there is no final date. It is felt that there should be a definite deadline on this," she said.