TRAI to issue Consultation Paper for New Broadcasting Bill soon

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India plans to soon issue a detailed consultation paper on the new Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023. “TRAI is now almost ready with the detailed consultation paper, which will be out in the next few days,” Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman, TRAI said at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry in Mumbai.

The exercise is to identify the key focus areas for the media and entertainment sectors, both in India and overseas, to make India a global hub in content creation.

The focus will primarily be on encouraging the production and promotion of local content. The archaic audience measurement system will also be reviewed to provide more accurate and scientific data for advertisers and broadcasters for monetising the content broadcasted.

Other objectives of the regulator include, ensuring growth across segments in the media and entertainment sector; making regulatory and policy climate more business friendly; combating issues associated with content piracy, security and copyright infringement; increasing the scope and leveraging terrestrial broadcasting; and strengthening the role of broadcasting in case of disasters are other points of focus.

TRAI will hold consultations with the stakeholders, including the consumers and the industry, on these various issues and subsequently send in their recommendations to the government.

The Indian public service broadcasting system is being strengthened for better dissemination of quality content.
BCS Bureau