I&B Ministry sets up inter-ministerial committees for FM phase III

NEW DELHI: An inter-ministerial committee (IMC) headed by Information and Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary Rajiv Takroo has been set up to finalise the details of the e-auction for the third phase of FM Radio in the country.

The committee with nine members, of whom I&B Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Supriya Sahu will be the member secretary, will "guide and supervise the process of e-auction and grant of license to private parties" for Phase III.

It will finalise and seek approval of the request for proposal document for selection of agency for conducting the e-auction for award of license of FM channels; review the auction framework, finalise the auction documentation, conduct and oversee open house sessions for stakeholders, and guide the agency selected for the e-auction.

The IMC will report to I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma. Other members are the representatives of the Telecommunications, Information Technology, Legal Affairs, and Economic Affairs departments apart from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, all of whom will not be below the rank of joint secretary.

In addition, there will be representation of the director-finance from the Internal Finance Wing of the I&B Ministry, and the Director General of All India Radio.

A separate Appellate Review Committee to scrutinise the short-listing of prospective bidders has also been set up in the Ministry, headed by the Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry. It has six other members including the Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) who will be member secretary. They include representatives from Corporate Affairs, Revenue (Central Board of Direct Taxes), Telecom, Legal Affairs, and the internal Finance Wing of the I&B Ministry.

This committee will scrutinise various details including the networth of prospective bidders and put them up on the Ministry website, scrutinise bank guarantees and oversee the other work in that connection.