NEW DELHI – The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to tighten reins on cable operators including an increase in penalties. The new amendments to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 will address the problem of illegal channels running in different parts of the country.
The I&B ministry has received several complaints against cable operators showing illegal channels that do not have permission to uplink or downlink in India. A new section in the Cable Act prohibits cable operators from carrying unregistered satellite or terrestrial channels on their cable service making it a cognizable offence. The financial penalties have been increased for the first offence from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh and from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3 lakh for subsequent offences.
The proposed amendments to the Cable Act will replace the current ambiguous system of registration with a licensing system. All cable operators will have to submit documentation including PAN card, company turnover, subscription numbers, income tax returns and other details to the ministry.
The proposed changes also envisage cable operators going through mandatory security clearance from the local police to prevent unscrupulous elements in the cable business. Sources said there had been a sharp rise in complaints against local cable operators. Some of these complaints have deep security implications where intelligence agencies have tracked channels inciting people with anti-national sentiment.
There have also been reports that some channels were asking for donations to fund jihad against India. Other violations that have come to notice are cable operators in border towns downlinking channels from Pakistan or China. There have also been instances of cartelization of cable services by the state government.
