The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued recommendations on ‘Inputs for the formulation of National Broadcasting Policy 2024’.
In its letter dated 13th July 2023, The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) requested, “TRAI to provide its considered inputs under Section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997 for formulation of National Broadcasting Policy.”
As a first step, TRAI issued a Pre-Consultation Paper on September 21, 2023, to identify issues for the National Broadcasting Policy formulation. Based on stakeholder feedback, TRAI released the Consultation Paper on ‘Inputs for Formulation of National Broadcasting Policy – 2024’ on April 2, 2024. The paper highlighted focus areas and posed 20 questions for stakeholder comments. TRAI received feedback from 42 stakeholders, including service providers, organizations, industry associations, consumer advocacy groups, and individuals.
An Open House Discussion (OHD) was held on May 15, 2024, during which additional comments were received. These comments, along with OHD submissions and subsequent feedback, have been analyzed and thoroughly considered in forming the recommendations to the Government.
The broadcasting sector, recognized as a sunrise industry, holds significant potential to drive economic growth in India. The recommendations for the broadcasting policy outline the vision, mission, goals, and strategies essential for the sector’s planned development and expansion, particularly in the era of emerging technologies.
The policy aims to foster sector growth through rapid adoption of emerging technologies, ensuring consumers receive an immersive and enriching experience cost-effectively while protecting stakeholder interests. Achieving these objectives requires collaboration among key stakeholders, including central and state governments, local authorities, TV and radio broadcasters, OTT service providers, content creators, distributors, equipment manufacturers, academia, research institutes, and the industry, including startups and SMEs.
The Authority has outlined the Vision, Mission, and Goals for the National Broadcasting Policy – 2024:
Vision:
The policy aims to create a competitive, affordable, and widespread ecosystem for the sustained growth of the broadcasting sector. This ecosystem will meet diverse consumer needs, facilitate quality content creation, promote democratic values and cultural diversity, enhance inclusivity and literacy, attract investments, protect intellectual property, develop robust indigenous infrastructure, adopt emerging technologies, generate employment, and drive socio-economic development. Through innovation and collaboration, the policy seeks to strengthen India’s soft image and position ‘Brand India’ on the global stage.
Mission:
Under mission, the policy focuses on positioning India as an ‘Uplinking Hub’ for television channels, attracting investments, generating employment opportunities and promoting skill development. It also ensures, “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.’”
Goals:
The policy aims to establish a robust broadcasting ecosystem and support Indian content production across films, animation, visual effects, gaming, music, and OTT broadcasting services. It also emphasizes content security and acknowledges the critical role of broadcasters during disasters.
