Govt eases Local Cable Operators registration rules

New Delhi: The government on Friday eased the rules governing cable television networks by making the process of registration of Local Cable Operators (LCOs) entirely online with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the registering authority.

The amended Cable Television Network Rules-1994 came into effect from Friday itself and the government announced that the Local Cable Operators registration certificate will be issued in real time after successful verification of applicant details, including Aadhaar, PAN, CIN and DIN among other documents.

Earlier, LCO registration process was carried out at the local head post office of the area in which the office of the LCO is situated in an offline mode with the head postmaster as their registering authority.

As per the amended rules, the LCOs shall apply for new registration or renewal of registration online on the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the registration certificate shall be issued online.

The LCO registrations shall be granted or renewed for a period of five years at a processing fee of Rs 5,000 only.

The LCO registration shall be valid for operations throughout the territory of India and the application for renewal shall be made at least 90 days before the expiry of the registration.

The LCOs can make an appeal before the Appellate Authority i.e. Under Secretary (DAS) against the decision of the Registering Authority, i.e. designated Section Officer denying registration or renewal of registration within 30 days of such denial, an official statement said.

Existing LCO registration shall remain valid for the period mentioned in the registration certificate, it said.

In cases where the existing registration of the LCO is valid for less than 90 days, the applications for renewal, if any, shall be made immediately on the portal, the statement said.

The applications made to the post offices for grant/renewal of registration, which are pending as on date, would be required to be withdrawn and applications have to be made on the portal.