I&B mutes TV channels' plan; HRD seeks PMO help

HRD ministry has approached the Prime Minister’s Office to sort out its impressive 1,000 educational TV channels plan with the I&B ministry. The I&B ministry says the proposal of the HRD ministry does not meet certain norms and guidelines.

The human resources development (HRD) ministry has approached the Prime Minister’s Office to sort out its impressive 1,000 educational TV channels plan with the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry. The I&B ministry says the proposal of the HRD ministry does not meet certain norms and guidelines.

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“Yes, we are aware of this and have referred it to the PMO, to take a look into the matter,” sources in the HRD ministry said. Confirming the development, I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma told HT: “There are certain uplinking and downlinking guidelines that have to be adhered to.”

Under the present guidelines, only companies registered under the Companies Act, 1956, can operate a TV channel. The HRD ministry is not a registered company, so unless amendments are made to the existing law, it would not be possible to grant permission to the HRD ministry, said an I&B ministry official.

“For amendments to the existing law, the usual route of forwarding it to the Union cabinet has to be followed,” the official said adding: "Under Companies Act, license to operate TV channels can only be given to registered companies not to government departments.”

It had already initiated steps to launch the first 50 round-the-clock channels at the earliest and had approached the Information and Broadcasting ministry for permission.