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Ministers' panel approves draft Convergence Bill

A group of Indian ministers, on Tuesday, approved the draft of a planned Convergence Bill which aims to have a common law to regulate the Internet as well as broadcasting and telecommunications, the Press Trust of India said.

The Communication Convergence Bill 2001, which has nearly 100 clauses, would be introduced in Parliament in the first week of May, the news agency quoted Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan.

The new legislation, which aims for a common regulator, addresses concerns emerging out of digital technologies that help transport of video, voice and data over the same networks.

The news agency said that the draft, which will be put up on the government's Internet site in a week, was cleared by the group headed by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. Others in the panel included the ministers in-charge of communications, information and broadcasting, law and information technology.

Mahajan said the bill would be referred to a parliamentary panel on communications and was expected to be approved only in the winter session of Parliament late this year or during the budget session early next year.

Complex legislations are usually referred to lawmakers' committees for comments and changes before being presented to the Parliament for final approval.

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