The prickly issue of regulating TV channels led to spirited argument between the government and the industry at a seminar on Monday, with the latter questioning the basis for regulation amidst suggestions that the existing guidelines in this regard were good enough.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Regulation in the Entertainment Sector’ organised by FICCI, Information & Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Asha Swaroop defended the government position saying it was incorrect to suggest that India was the only country to propose a content code for the broadcasting sector.

“Such codes exist in different forms in other countries.

“In the country itself, there has always been a programme code and an advertising code as part of the licence conditions for the service providers to abide by,” she said.

The Information & Broadcasting Ministry, she further said, was only revising these codes and proposing to present them in the form of a “content code” following discussions with the industry since October 2005.

“The revised bill on the proposed Broadcast Services Regulation which was announced to the media and put on the ministry’s website on July 20 incorporates the views of the industry received during the past several years,” she said.

Information & Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary further put the government viewpoint across, saying: “There is no place for emotions and nobody is trying to bring in a guided democracy.

“If there is a trust deficit, it has to be addressed as the first priority by sitting across the table.”

Industry stand
Presenting the industry stand, FICCI Committee on Convergence chairman Amit Khanna, who is also the chairman of Reliance Entertainment Ltd, said there should be a “re-look” at cross-media restrictions, and described the sector equity caps as the worst form of piece-meal legislation.

Times Global Broadcasting Company Ltd (Times Now) CEO Sunil Lulla said the provisions of the Broadcast Regulatory Authority Bill, would shackle the industry and would act as “disabling” rather than “enabling” factor for it.

AajTak CEO G Krishnan, echoing Mr Lulla’s views, said: “It is improper to put regulation in place. Guidelines should have been good enough. The Fourth Estate is like an auditor and you cannot put restrictions on auditors. Any regulation on a free Press would be regressive and set us back by many, many years.”