NEW DELHI: A coordination committee has been constituted in the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to ensure convergence of advocacy, information and communication objectives and strategies of the ministry.

The committee will also remove bottlenecks in the conception and implementation of programmes, according to the Minister of State for I&B C M Jatua.

Sources told indiantelevision.com later that the primary aim of the committee was to ensure coordination amongst various media units under the ministry, primarily the Press Information Bureau, Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity, Directorate of Field Publicity, Song and Drama Division, all of which work to promote the flagship programmes of the government.

Other units include the Research, Reference, Training and Development wing, the Directorate of Film Festivals, and the Publications Division.

NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has found 37 channels to have failed to become operational even after one year of permission.

The licence of five of these has been cancelled, while three had requested for extension of time against notice of cancellation. 27 TV channels had sought extension for operationalising their channels. They have been asked to submit Performance Bank Guarantee. The permission of two channels has been withdrawn at the request of the concerned company.

A total of 681 television channels are operational in the country in April this year, out of a total of 825 television channels which had been permitted by the government as on 19 January this year.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua said that 116 channels are within the prescribed limit of one year for operationalisation under the Uplinking/Downlinking Guidelines.

The teleports have to pay Rs 87,500 per MHz per annum to the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the Communications and Information Technology Ministry for uplinking TV channels.

NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has spent a sum of Rs 20.43 million to pay former Supreme Court and High Court judges to act as arbitrators to recover claims in 27 cases.

Parliament was told by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua that the amount sought to be recovered was Rs 3.95 billion.

The Minister said that Prasar Bharati had said that in view of the arbitration clause inserted in the agreements, the matters could not have been taken before other judicial authorities.

In another reply, the Minister said that a sum of Rs 8.43 million had been recovered by encashing bank guarantees relating to 11 defaulting producers since 2010. These included two cases each of PAS International and Art Advertising, and one each of Pritish Nandy Communications, Liazo of Kolkata, Signet Communication, Mast Media, Joel Advertising, TBWA Anthem, and PSI (Population Services International).

Proceedings were also initiated against Fame Communicatiins (Cinevista), Creative Channel, and Nimbus Communication for a total principal amount of Rs 331.10 million and interest till date of Rs 193.59 million.

A single bench of the Bombay High Court had in July 2002 directed Nimbus to pay a sum of Rs 763.42 million along with interest at 18 per cent per annum on the principal sum of Rs 62.80 million with effect from 1 September 1998. The broadcaster?s case is pending before the Court but it has paid a sum of Rs 30 million and furnished a bank guarantee of Rs 40 million to the Court in terms of its order.

NEW DELHI: A three-member Fact Finding Team headed by Rajeev Ranjan Nag has been set up by the Press Council of India to investigate complaints by journalists in Bihar who told Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju that they were facing difficulties in discharging their duties.

During a recent visit to Bihar, the Chairman had been told that journalists fear harassment and losing their job as authorities put pressure on the proprietors to do so.

Parliament was informed by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua today that the team would visit Patna and main district headquarters in the first four days of next month.

Justice Katju had last month stated that he had heard the Press is under pressure and had announced he would be sending a fact finding team to inquire about the status of media?s freedom.

Interestingly, an RTI activist was told by the government that Rs 280 million was spent by the government in media advertisements while it was much less than during Lalu Prasad led RJD government.

The Council had set up a similar fact finding commission which visited Bihar in the mid-eighties, and came back with the view that there was a mafia with the media in Bihar that did not let the other media persons go about their work.

NEW DELHI: There are as many as 14 television channels from Pakistan out of a list of 25 channels which security agencies in the Government have identified as illegal.

The agencies have said that the content of some of these channels is not conducive to the security environment in the country and is a potential security hazard.

Parliament was informed that out of the other 11, there are two from Nepal (one identified as Nepal, and the other as Kantipur), and one channel each from Bangladesh (NTV Bangladesh), Maldives (TV Maldives), Bhutan (Bhutan Broadcasting Service), and there is a UK-based channel, Ahmedia Channel.

Other channels from Arab countries are Peace TV from Dubai, Saudi TV, and Al Jazeera News.

The Pakistani channels are PTV, PTV Home, PTV World, Geo TV, Dawn, Express, Waqat, Q TV, Madni TV, Noor TV, Hadi TV, Aaj, Filmax and STV.

The nationality of two channels has not been disclosed: ARY TV and XYZ TV.

According to Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua, amendments have been made in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 to tackle illegal channels, making their transmission a cognizable offence. Another amendment to the same bill in this regard had been introduced in the Lok Sabha in December and is awaiting approval of Parliament.

Authorised officers have been appointed in all states to deal with complaints against cable operators carrying these channels, Jatua said.