(a) whether the Government has issued instructions to the television channels to use Indian transponders for uplinking and downlinking of channels in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of television channels using foreign transponders for uplinking/ downlinking the channels; and
(d) the action taken by the Government against those channels which are using the foreign transponders?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BRAODCASTING { COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (Retd.)}
(a) to (d): Department of Space (DOS) has informed that as per the Cabinet approved ‘Norms, Guidelines and Procedures for Implementation of the Policy Frame-work for Satellite Communication in India’, all licensed services operating in foreign satellites are to be shifted to Indian satellite as soon as indigenous capacity is available. The channels, whose contracts are expiring in the near future on foreign satellites, are being informed to shift to indigenous INSAT/GSAT satellites, as the required capacity is available.
Network Operations Control Centre (NOCC) has intimated that presently 586 TV Channels are working on Foreign Satellites.
******