NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has asked all television channels and those managing teleports, whose downlinking permissions have expired after five years or is in the process of expiring by December this year, to furnish details afresh about their Board of Directors and key executives.

As per a notice on the website of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the required information has to be filed by 10 May for the channels and teleports to apply for extension of their permissions.

The website lists 60 TV channels whose downlinking permission is over and six channels whose permission is expiring this year.

Channels whose permissions have expired include Sony Entertainment Television and its related channels, Zee Trends, B4U movies, BBC World, Bloomberg, DW TV, TV 5 Monde, various channels of the Discovery group, channels of Star Sports, channels of Nat Geo, AXN, NHK World, Ten Sports, Disney, CNN, Pogo, HBO, WB, Zee Café and Zee Studio.

The six whose downlinking permissions are expiring include Al Jazeera, France 24, ESP News and Grenada TV.

Asked why the period mentioned was five years and not ten as already stipulated, I&B secretary Bimal Julka told Indiantelevision.com that the period of licence was five years until 2011 but has since been increased to ten years. Thus, all these applicants will get renewals for ten years.

He also said that the period had been ten years for those who uplinked and downlinked, and the aim of the 2011 change was to make the downlinking permission co-terminus with the licence period. Thus, all renewals will be for ten years.

Julka also said that the Home Ministry had assured him that cases held up for security clearances as far as multi-system operators (MSOs) were concerned would be speeded up as the officials were until now tied up with the Nepal rescue work.