For the second time in six years, the government -- planning to frame a comprehensive legislation for the broadcasting sector -- may propose a regulator with only quasi-judicial powers but no licensing authority.
However, the proposal is yet to be worked upon and the new Broadcast Bill is unlikely to be placed in Parliament in the upcoming winter session, official sources said in New Delhi on Friday.
A regulator with only quasi-judicial powers and no licensing authority will be a major dilution of what the Broadcasting Bill 1997 proposed, sources said, adding the government was seized of the urgency to put in place a comprehensive legislation for the broadcasting sector.
To put in place the new bill, government may also think in terms of constituting a group of ministers on broadcasting to suggest ways to rework the 1997 bill, which was never pursued.
"We will talk to industry players and other stake holders like business chambers to decide what and who should comprise a regulator. The Broadcast Bill of 1997 proposed that the regulator should have wide powers but this time round we're thinking differently," they said.
"But we do not propose to bring the new Broadcast Bill in the winter session of Parliament," they added.
Also, as part of efforts to involve various stake holders in this process, government proposes to elicit views of industry players and prominent business chambers on the matter, they added.
Sources said as per the 1997 legislation, the proposed regulator would have sweeping powers including allocation of licences for frequencies, competition, programming code and standards, technical and other quality standards, standards for tastes an decency in programming, terrestrial television and radio.
With the group of ministers on telecom recommending against convergence of IT, telecom and broadcasting and with the industry's demand for putting in place a regulator still pending, the information and broadcasting ministry is of the view that wide-ranging talks are needed to frame a broadcast legislation, they added.
Among the proposals being considered by the government is vesting powers like content regulation on television and radio with the proposed regulator for broadcasting but retain the authority to grant licences with itself.
The proposed regulator may also be mandated to implement government's guidelines relating to the sector and be vested with penal powers, sources said, adding this body may also be asked to recommend programming and advertising codes.
A section within the government wants the proposed regulatory body to be set up on the lines of the content bureau envisaged in the Convergence Bill, which has been put on the backburner for now.