The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to certain proposals relating to the Uplinking Policy. A number of clauses in the existing Guidelines for Uplinking News and Current Affairs TV Channels from India have been modified as follows:
(i) Clause B of the eligibility criteria for news and current affairs channels be substituted as under
“ Foreign Equity holding including FDI/FII/NRI investments shall not exceed 26% of the Paid Up equity of the applicant company. However, the entity making portfolio investment in the form of FII/NRIs deposits shall not be “persons acting in concert” with FDI investors, as defined in Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) / (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997. The Company permitted to uplink the channel shall certify the continued compliance of this requirement through its Company Secretary, at the end of each financial year.”
(ii) Clause D of the eligibility criteria for news and current channel be substituted as under:
“While calculating foreign equity of the applicant company, the foreign holding component, if any, in the equity of the Indian shareholder companies of the applicant company will be duly reckoned on pro-rata basis, so as to arrive at the total foreign holding in the applicant company. However, indirect FII equity in a company, as on 31st March of the year, would be taken for the purposes of pro-rata reckoning of foreign holdings.”
(iii) Instead of deletion of Clause F of the eligibility criteria for news and current affairs channels, be substituted by the following:
“It will be obligatory on the part of the company to intimate the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the changes in Foreign Direct Investment in the company, within 15 days of such a change. While effecting changes in the shareholding patterns, it shall ensure its continued compliance to Clause (B) and (D) above.”
(iv) TV Channels and Teleports be permitted to uplink in Ku Band through Indian satellites only, subject to the condition that this permission is not used to run/operate DTH service without a proper license.
(v) The following provisions be inserted in the terms and conditions for uplinking of TV Channels:
(Release ID :20436)