MIB to discuss TRAI’s recommendations on NBP in meeting with stakeholders on July 19

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) will be meeting various stakeholders of the broadcasting industry on July 19, 2024 to discuss the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy – 2024, as per industry sources.

In its inputs released on June 20, 2024, TRAI recommended the Vision, Mission and Goals for the National Broadcasting Policy - 2024.

Vision

To foster a competitive, affordable and ubiquitous ecosystem for sustained growth of the broadcasting sector, catering to the diverse needs of consumers that facilitates quality content creation, promotes democratic values and cultural diversity, enables inclusivity and literacy, attracts investments, safeguards intellectual property, develops resilient indigenous infrastructure, adopts emerging technologies, generates employment and drives socio-economic development through innovation and collaboration for strengthening India’s soft image and positioning ‘Brand India’ globally.

Mission

In pursuit of establishing India a global leader in the broadcasting sector, this policy intends to target broad roadmap for 10 years with special focus on the next 5 years. The National Broadcasting Policy-2024, envisages to achieve the following:

Propelling Growth

Establishing a robust broadcasting ecosystem by enabling growth[1]oriented policies and regulations through data-driven governance.
Supporting creation of a resilient, adaptive and tech-agile infrastructure fostering R&D, technology innovation and indigenous manufacturing.
Facilitating level-playing field and healthy competition; promoting ease of doing business and stimulating economic growth by enabling the reach of broadcasting services to all, positioning India as an ‘Uplinking Hub’ for television channels, attracting investments, generating employment opportunities and promoting skill development.

Promoting Content

Supporting quality content production and distribution for television, radio and OTT broadcasting services, encouraging proliferation of Indian content, both locally and globally, by harnessing the power of emerging broadcasting technologies and making India a ‘Global Content Hub’.
Establishing India as a preferred destination for content creation.
Enabling quality content production in public service broadcasting to inform, educate and entertain the masses.
Promoting and facilitating the growth of Indian content through films, animation, visual effects, gaming, music and state-of-the-art post-production infrastructure.

Protecting Interests

Combating piracy and safeguarding the rights of content creators and intellectual property holders through copyright protection.
Fulfilling social responsibilities by ensuring awareness and enabling provisions for disseminating information to all strata of society.
Environmental responsibilities through green broadcasting practices and disaster preparedness.

Goals

Propelling Growth: Establishing a robust broadcasting ecosystem
Promoting Content: Encouraging Indian content outreach at global stage
Protecting Interests: Safeguarding rights of content creator and leveraging broadcasting services for protecting socio[1]environmental interests of the society

MIB, vide its letter dated July 13, 2023 had asked TRAI to provide its considered inputs under Section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997 for formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy.

As a first step, TRAI issued a Pre-Consultation Paper on September 21, 2023 to elicit the issues which were required to be considered for the formulation of National Broadcasting Policy. Based on the comments received from and discussion held with stakeholders, TRAI released the Consultation Paper on ‘Inputs for formulation of National Broadcasting Policy-2024’ on April 2, 2024. The Consultation Paper identified the focus areas and raised 20 questions seeking comments of the stakeholders. TRAI received comments from 42 stakeholders, including service providers, organizations, industry associations, consumer advocacy groups and few individuals.

The Open House Discussion (OHD) was held on May 15, 2024. Certain additional comments were also received post OHD. The comments, OHD submissions and the additional comments have been analysed and duly considered while framing the recommendations to the Government.

In a release issued on June 20, 2024, TRAI had stated, “The objective of the policy is to facilitate the growth of the sector with quick adoption of the emerging technologies for providing an immersive and enriching experience to the consumers in a cost-effective manner, while safeguarding the interest of the stakeholders involved in the broadcasting sphere. Achieving these goals necessitates collaboration among the key stakeholders, viz. the central and state governments, local governments and agencies, television and radio broadcasters, OTT service providers, content creators, distributors, equipment manufacturers, academia, research institutes, industry, including start-ups and small and medium enterprises.