By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, APR 03, 2024: TELECOM Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a Consultation Paper on 'Inputs for formulation of National Broadcasting Policy-2024' yesterday. 

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, through a reference dated 13th July 2023 requested the TRAI to provide its considered inputs under Section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997 for formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy. As a first step, TRAI issued a Pre-Consultation Paper on 21st September 2023, to elicit the issues which are required to be considered for the formulation of National Broadcasting Policy. The TRAI received 28 comments. It has examined the issues emanating from the written submissions and meetings, studied various media and industry reports, public documents, international practices and initiatives taken by the Government for the sector to delve into the existing issues of the sector.

Accordingly, this Consultation Paper on 'Inputs for formulation of National Broadcasting Policy-2024' has been prepared for seeking comments from stakeholders and has been placed on TRAI's website (www.trai.gov.in). Written comments on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper are invited from stakeholders by 30th April 2024. It may be noted that no counter-comments are being invited in this Consultation Paper, as this paper intends formulation of inputs for the broadcasting policy. 

The broadcasting sector is a sunrise sector having huge potential to contribute towards the growth of the Indian economy. The inputs for formulation of policy aim at stipulating the vision, mission, objectives and strategies for the planned development and growth of the broadcasting sector in the country in the era of new and emerging technologies.

The Consultation Paper highlights pertinent issues prevalent in the broadcasting sector with an objective of making India a 'Global Content Hub'. The Consultation Paper raises questions on the policy and regulatory measures and the strategies to be adopted for increasing the contribution to the economy through universal reach, fostering innovation with focus on R&D, facilitating job creation, skill development and start-up promotion. The paper also discusses on strengthening the public service broadcasting, issues on various segments of media and entertainment sector, combatting piracy and ensuring content security, robust audience measurement system, terrestrial broadcasting and socio-environmental responsibilities.

The written comments may be sent, preferably in electronic form, at advbcs-2[at]trai[dot]gov[dot]in and jtadvisor-bcs[at]trai[dot]gov[dot]in. For any clarification/information, Shri Tejpal Singh, Advisor (Broadcasting and Cable Services), TRAI may be contacted at Tel. No.: +91-11-23664516.