India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati, which has been designated as the monitoring agency to see if all mandated TV channels were being carried on distribution platforms, has asked the distributors to provide it with compliance reports.

Under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, I995, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has so far notified 25 Doordarshan channels and parliament TV or Sansad TV (both SD and HD versions) to be mandatorily carried by cable operators on their networks.

In a communiqué to the distributors, MIB has said that as Prasar Bharati has been “entrusted with the task of monitoring of carriage of these mandatory channels” by the distribution platforms, all such organisations “are (being) advised to provide LCN data of mandatory channels to (the) Domestic Distribution wing of Prasar Bharati” on a fortnightly basis.

Late September, the India government had directed that Sansad TV, created after the merger of Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV (the dedicated TV channels for the two houses of parliament), should be carried by distribution platforms on a mandatory basis.

Sansad TV was inaugurated on September 15 by PM Narendra Modi in the presence of India’s Vice-President and  Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Speaker of Lok Sabha (Lower House) Om Birla.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi had said, “…the country is getting such a medium of communication and dialogue in the form of Sansad TV, which will serve as the new voice of the country’s democracy and people’s representatives.”

Pointing out that the role of media and TV channels is changing quickly, the Prime Minister had said, “The 21st century is bringing a revolution, especially through communication and dialogue. In such a situation, it becomes natural that the channels associated with our Parliament should also transform themselves according to these modern systems.