The government on Wednesday gave the permission to Media Content and Communication Services to uplink Star News from India.
The decision marks the end of around 10 months of uncertainty over the channel's functioning, as it did not meet government regulations. The government had doubted the ownership and control of the channel too.
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According to senior government sources, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already signed an order to this effect.
MCCS will now have to sign a licence agreement with the government. The information and broadcasting ministry's clearance was the last prerequisite for the company, with it already having got the clearance of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the home ministry.
"The company will now have to complete the formalities and need to sign the agreement," said an official.
Star, which has offloaded 74 per cent stake in MCCS to Kolkata-based ABP Ltd, had applied afresh for the uplinking permission last month. The application by MCCS followed the government's decision to tighten uplinking guidelines, in which it was stipulated that an Indian entity should hold at least a 51 per cent equity in a firm.
The crisis over Star's request started when it set up a company in the country with dispersed equity holding. The government viewed it as a ploy to violate the regulations.
Ever since, the company has been operating on a temporary uplinking permission. The government later amended up-linking regulations by making it mandatory for a company to have a dominant Indian partner with at least 51 per cent stake in the company.
