(a) whether the Government have accorded their approval to start new foreign channels in the country
during the current year;
(b) if so, details thereof;
(c) the time by which these channels are likely to be commenced;
(d) the extent to which these channels are useful to the people of this country;
(e) whether the Government have any statistics about the popularity of the Indian Channels; and
(f) if so, the details thereof ?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING (SMT. SUSHMA SWARAJ)
(a) to (f): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.522 FOR ANSWER ON 2.5.2002.
(a) to (f): The Government does not accord approval for starting new channels. However, it gives
permission to uplink channels from India. So far, the Government has permitted 56 channels to
uplink from India. During the current year, 2002 four (4) channels have been permitted. A list of
these channels is at Annexure-I. The Government is not maintaining data on the commencement
dates of the TV channels. But as per available information, most of these channels have commenced
operation. Apart from providing entertainment, news and current affairs programme to the people,
uplinking of these channels from India helps in conserving foreign exchange and generating
economic activities. There is no arrangement to determine the popularity or usefulness of various
channels.
LIST OF TV CHANNELS PERMITTED TO UPLINK THEIR PROGRAMMES FROM INDIA
Sl.No. Name of the Companies Name of the Channels Date of Permission
1 Mavis Satcom (Jaya TV) Pvt. Ltd. JAYA TV 30.3.2000 2 Malayalam Communication Ltd. KAIRALI 1.1.2002 3 Vijay Broadcasting Co. Pvt. Ltd. VIJAY 9.4.2001 4 TV Today Network Ltd. INDIA TODAY 4.12.2000 5 SUN TV Ltd. SUN TV, SUN NEWS, SURYA TV, SURYA NEWS, SCV, SUN-II, SURYA-II, USHE TV, UDAYA NEWS, TEJA NEWS, GEMINI TV, TEJA TV, KTV 26.3.2001 6 Jain Studios Ltd. JAIN TV 4.1.2001 7 Asianet Communications Ltd. ASIANET (ANALOG) MALAYALAM, 13.6.2001 ASIANET GLOBAL(DIGITAL) 19.6.2001 ASIANET (DIGITAL) MALAYALAM 18.7.2001
8 Udaya TV Ltd. UDAYA TV, UDAYA TV-II 10.4.2001 9 Technology Media Group (P) Ltd. TMG ENTER, 14.6.2001 10 Sky (B) Bangla Pvt. Ltd. AKASH TV 12.4.2001 11 Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd. ETV TELUGU, ETV BENGALI, ETV MARATHI, ETV KANNADA (IN ANALOG & DIGITAL MODE), ETV URDU, ETV ORIYA, ETV GUJURATI (IN DIGITAL 6.6.2001 MODE ONLY)
ETV UP (HINDI) ETV MP (HINDI) ETV RAJASTHAN (HINDI) ETV BIHAR (HINDI) ETV PUNJABI ETV TAMIL ETV ASSAMI ETV MALAYALAM 20.11.2001
12 Raj TV Network Ltd. RAJ TV, RAJ DIGITAL PLUS 29.3.2001 13 Intelivision Ltd. SPLASH TV, NUM TV 15.6.2001 14 STV Enterprises Ltd. PUNJAB TODAY 5.12.2001 15 ZEE TELEFILMS LTD. ALPHA MARATHI ALPHA GUJARATI ALPHA BANGLA ALPHA PUNJABI ZEE NEWS ZEE MUSIC ZED TV 6.12.2001 16. Entertainment Television Network Pvt. Ltd Etc- Hindi Etc- Punjabi 5.2.2002 17. Maa Television Network Ltd. MAA TV 9.4.2002 18. Diksaat Transworld Ltd. WIN TV 11.4.2002