(a) whether the Union Government proposes to amend the cable laws to promote
Doordarshan;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Cable operators in the country are not clearly telecasting Doordarshan
channels and violating the cable laws; and
(d) if so, the stringent steps to be taken by the Union Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) & (b): Section 8 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995
requires every cable operator to re-transmit at least two Doordarshan
terrestrial channels and one regional language channel of the State in prime
band, as notified by the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India),
in satellite mode on frequencies other than those carrying terrestrial
frequencies. The Doordarshan channels cited shall be retransmitted without
any deletion or alteration of any programmes.
(c) & (d): Constant interaction is maintained by Doordarshan with the major
cable operators so as to ensure proper distribution of must-carry channels
through the cable T.V. network. Public are also kept informed through
promos/captions on DD network.