In the eye of a storm over the implementation of conditional access system, the government is understood to be contemplating a broadcasting regulatory authority even as Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday and apprised him on the latest plans for the CAS roll-out.
Though the information and broadcasting ministry has not firmed up its views on the matter, it is examining the need to put in place a regulator without waiting for the Convergence Bill, which has a provision for it, sources said.
With CAS snowballing into a controversy, the ministry may also make changes in the draft of the proposal for such a regulator, which is to address competition issues and content on radio and television.
The sources said the Monsoon Session being too short a Bill was likely only in the Winter Session of Parliament.
The government is also to take a view on whether there should be one regulator now, which will be merged with the one under the Convergence Bill or was there a need for more than one regulator.
Meanwhile, Prasad is understood to have apprised the prime minister on the new CAS formula, under which all consumers will pay only Rs 72 plus taxes for all channels from August 1 till they get notified for CAS in a staggered roll-out from September 1 in the four metros.
With stakeholders speaking in different voices on the agreement reached at Friday's meeting at prime minister's office, the government is determined to take "all necessary measures" including amending the law or notification to bring around the broadcasters, who say that the Rs-72 "honeymoon time" was only for one month for each zone.
