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Parliament passes cable networks bill: PTI

Parliament Monday approved a bill to bring uniformity in cable television network operations in the country and avoid telecast of undesirable programmes that depict vulgarity and obscenity with Rajya Sabha passing the bill by a voice vote.

The Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Bill 2000, already passed by Lok Sabha last week, aimed at bringing all private television channels within the scope of the programme and advertising codes to curtail obscenity on television.

Besides seeking to remove certain deficiencies in the Cable Networks Act, the bill also made it mandatory for cable operators to show at least three Doordarshan channels -- two terrestrial and one regional.

Replying to a brief discussion on the bill, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said the legislation empowered the government to regulate the operation of cable television networks to enable optimal exploitation of this technology having the potential of making available to subscribers a vast pool of information and entertainment.

Jaitley admitted that operation of the act for the past five years had brought forth deficiencies like non-application of the programme and advertisement codes on free-to-air channels, absence of an effective enforcement mechanism and wide discretion to cable operators in carrying DD channels.

He said to overcome those deficiencies the bill provided that free-to-air channels be brought within the codes to avoid distribution of undesirable programmes.

Stating that there was no pre-censorship on TV programmes, the minister said it was up to the private channel operators to follow certain codes.

He said the bill had many provisions to deal with violence and obscenity.

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