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Cabinet to decide on uplinking facilities for foreign channels

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JAN. 31. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is formulating the policy regarding foreign news channels and would seek the opinion of the Union Cabinet on giving them uplinking facilities, the new Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said here.

"We are looking in detail on allowing uplinking facilities to foreign news channels. It is a new phenomenon of foreign investment in news channels and we may seek the advice of the Union Cabinet on this,'' Mr. Prasad told reporters today soon after taking over independent charge as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.

Asked if consumers would have to pay for the Conditional Access System (CAS) for watching the channels of their choice, he said that his efforts would be to bring a consumer-friendly regime. "We will meet the deadline of July in making CAS applicable to all metropolitan cities. The task force on the subject will give its report by February 7 and we will examine it in detail,'' he said.

Stressing on the watchwords, "transparency and accountability'', Mr. Prasad, who previously handled Coal, Mines and Law portfolios, said he would strive for making Doordarshan and All India Radio tools of development and not just of government propaganda.

Lauding his predecessor, Sushma Swaraj, for the initiatives she took in the Ministry, Mr. Prasad said that he would continue to consolidate upon her efforts and would try to explore the entertainment sector for bringing in more revenue. "Developing the instinct for development and use of information for development will be the new buzz word. Doordarshan and radio still have the largest reach in the country,'' he said.

On video piracy which has affected the film industry, Mr. Prasad said he had an "open mind'' on the issue and would not hesitate to opt for legislative measures, if needed.

Asked about the pension scheme for mediapersons, he said he would work towards making it a reality.

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