COMMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

I&B minister hints at code to check misinformation by foreign channels

The Union government will soon introduce a code of conduct for foreign channels operating in the country and form a Broadcasting Council to monitor and counter all misinformation campaigns.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in Calcutta on Sunday that an Indian Programme Code for all foreign channels would be formulated to stop the misinformation campaign against India.

He said a Broadcasting Council will also be created, under the Broadcasting Bill, to monitor all broadcasting activities of both foreign and domestic channels. The Council would have representatives of private channels as members besides government officials. The Broadcasting Bill will be introduced in the next session of Parliament.

Naqvi said legal and experts' views have been sought for the programme code which was in the process of formulation.

The minister said special programmes will soon be aired, particularly in the border states, to combat the growing menace of anti-India campaigns carried on by some foreign media. He chastised Pakistan Television for its "planned campaign" against India and said the new programmes would aim at correcting the wrong information that was circulating in the border states. Transmission in these states will be strengthened, he added.

About the Prasar Bharati Bill pending clearance of the Rajya Sabha, Naqvi expressed confidence that it would be passed smoothly.

He said the Prasar Bharati Bill of 1990, which had already been passed in both Houses but was not implemented, had been revived because it "rightly seeks to strengthen the set up and make it accountable". The aim is to bring autonomy with accountability, he said.

The minister suggested that the Prasar Bharati should not "over commercialise" itself as it was currently doing.

He said foreign channels operating in India will now have to uplink from the country. ''We want India to become the hub of uplinking activities,'' he said and added that uplinking facilities will be available to all foreign channels operating in the country.

Currently foreign channels shown in India uplink from neighbouring countries.

Regarding entry of foreign media, Naqvi said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government would in no way allow it as ''our previous experiences were bad''. There still were many foreign media engaged in portraying India in a negative light, he added.

The government was aware of all such misinformation campaigns and has created programmes to combat these, he said.

The minister said Doordarshan has no competition with any channel as it had a reach of almost 90 per cent. ''There is no need to ape the foreign media,'' he felt.

UNI