Centre to control TV content

Thursday, July 27, 2006

New Delhi (UNI): A state-of-the-art Centre to keep a tab on the content being telecast by private channel is coming up and likely to commence work next year, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told the Rajya Sabha today. Mr Dasmunsi said the Ministry had decided to set up the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) to monitor the contents telecast by private channels as well as to check the violation of Programme and Advertisement Codes prescribed in Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and Rules framed there under. He said the Ministry of Urban Development had been requested to give a permanent space for the project, but a temporary space has been allotted in Pushpa Vihar in Saket. The project is under way and likely to commence in 2007, subject to availability of funds and other infrastructural requirement, he added.

''The total cost of the project is Rs 11.65 crore out of which Rs 2.90 crore had already been released. Another Rs 5.85 Crore has been allocated under the Annual Plan 2006-07 for the purpose,'' he said. Replying to another question, he said 190 TV channels were issued show cause notice over the last two years for violation of the Programme and Advertising Code. He said 13 of these channels were warned and asked to run a scroll, 23 were only warned, one was taken off the air and advisory letters were issued to two others.