The Centre has set up a four-member committee to review the television ratings system and make “recommendations for a robust, transparent and accountable” system , the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Centre’s decision comes amid an ongoing investigation into allegations of Television Rating Points (TRPs) manipulation by a few TV news channels. In October, the parliamentary panel on Information Technology chaired by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor noted that TRPs “can be easily manipulated”.
The committee consists of Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi V Vempatti, Dr Shailabh from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Kanpur, Rajkumar Upadhyay from the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and professor Pulak Ghosh from the Centre for Public Policy, the statement said. It has to submit its report in two months.
The four-member committee will analyse the suggestions made by various forums on the subject of television ratings systems in India and recommendations made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and also review present guidelines to see if they have met the test of time and needs of the stakeholders, the ministry said.
“Based on the operation of the guidelines for a few years, there is a need to have a fresh look on the guidelines… keeping in view the recent recommendations of TRAI, technological advancements/interventions to address the system ad further straighten the procedures for a credible and transparent ratings system,” the ministry said in its order.
{{/usCountry}}“Based on the operation of the guidelines for a few years, there is a need to have a fresh look on the guidelines… keeping in view the recent recommendations of TRAI, technological advancements/interventions to address the system ad further straighten the procedures for a credible and transparent ratings system,” the ministry said in its order.
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