The state broadcaster is in the process of switching satellite loyalties.

Almost all of Doordarshan‘s regional channels have started migration to Insat 3C which became operational from 22 February. Isro‘s latest multi-purpose geostatinary satellite is expected to boost satellite communication capabilities of the country, even as Insat 2C, which is nearing the end of its productive life, is being phased out. Most of the channels were earlier on Insat 2C and 2E, but are now being beamed via Insat 3C.

These include DD9 (Karnataka), DD11 (Gujarati), DD4 (Kerala), DD 10 (Maharashtra) and DD Gyan Darshan, the educational channel that was started two years ago.

Insat 3C has 24 normal C-band transponders, six extended C-band transponders, two S-band broadcast satellite transponders and a mobile satellite service transponder. Isro has said that there is already a large commitment from Indian users for the use of the satellite. Insat 2A to be launched later this year, are targeted at domestic users whereas Insat-3C was mainly built for India coverage.

Prasar Bharati has invited global tenders from Internet facility providers to upgrade the AIR Internet service to a multi-channel multi-lingual Internet radio station providing streaming audio.

The planning and development unit of the pubcaster has publicly invited commercial offers for the overhaul of All India Radio, so far a public service broadcaster focussed on educational and entertainment programmes.

With the private sector poised to invade the airwaves via FM, the government seems to be gearing up for the challenge by providing multi-lingual streaming audio.

The tender documents are available at Akashwani Bhavan, New Delhi from 11 March. An earnest money deposit of Rs 50,000 accompanies the tender documents, the deadline for which is 12 pm on 16 April.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has imposed special margins on 33 scrips, including four media shares.

The media firms included in the list of companies on which the margins were imposed are Padmalaya Telefilms, Pritish Nandy Communications, Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd and Tips Industries Ltd. The trading margins imposed on the four scrips are at 25 per cent.

Similar trading margins had been imposed on 11 February on three of the scrips in this list - Padmalaya, PNC and Sri Adhikari.

The rates of special margins have been revised keeping in view the closing price of the scrip on the last day of the settlement, a BSE release says.

Margin money is like a security deposit that is paid - which is held until a deal is complete and all monies are settled. The aim of margin money is to minimise the risk of default by either counter-party (buyer or seller). The payment of margin ensures that the risk is limited to the previous day‘s price movement on each outstanding position. Such measures are normally taken by the exchange to check excessive speculative trading.