NEW DELHI: The Cable TV Amendment Bill 2002 has been listed for business on the agenda of the Rajya Sabha (RS - the Upper House) for 5 August.

A three hour time period has been allowed for debate on the contentious issue of conditional access systems (CAS) in India when it comes up in the RS on Monday. Government sources say the business advisory panel of the Indian Parliament has agreed to the re-listing of the Bill seeking to amend the cable TV regulation act of 1995 on the RS' agenda.

The Bill's passage through the Lok Sabha and subsequent delay in being introduced, let alone be cleared, in the RS has caused a lot of angst amongs the CATV community and opposition members. It even resulted in blackouts by cable ops in Delhi and Mumbai over the past two weeks. However, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj's assurance that the bill would get the importance it deserves no matter what the opposition, pacified the CATV trade.

The cable industry has been vociferous in its protest that the government has been giving into various pulls and pressures and hence delaying the passage of the CAS amendment to the CATV act.