Broadcasting Services Regulation: Draft of Proposed Bill

The Broadcast media is a powerful purveyor of ideas and values and plays a pivotal role in not only providing entertainment but also disseminating information, nurturing and cultivating diverse opinions, educating and empowering the people of India to be informed citizens. The Government has issued guidelines from time to time for regulating the Broadcasting Services and it is felt necessary to give a statutory effect to these guidelines and provide for a comprehensive legislation. This is a Bill To promote facilitate and develop in an orderly manner the carriage and content of Broadcasting, To provide for regulation of broadcasting services in India for offering a wide variety of entertainment, news, views and information in a fair, objective and competitive manner and to provide for regulation of content for public viewing and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. To provide for the establishment of an independent authority to be known as the Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India for the purpose of regulating and facilitating development of broadcasting services in India To encourage Broadcasting services to be responsive to the educational, developmental, social, cultural and other needs and aspirations of people and include in their programming public service messaging and content.