FM III radio auction by next month: Manish Tewari

Auction for FM III radio is likely to roll out by next month, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari said Friday.

"The FM radio auctions were cleared by the cabinet in 2011. Subsequent to that, there were certain concerns (and) those were articulated by the industry. Those concerns were referred back to the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)," he told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day seminar CII Big Picture Summit 2013.

He added that the procedures were also examined by both the Broadcast Engineering Consultancy India Limited, which is a public sector undertaking under the I&B ministry, and consultants from the All India Radio. Subsequently, it went back to the inter-ministerial committee and then to the empowered group of ministers, as well as the cabinet.

"So now that we have gone through that entire drill, the processes and procedures, which can ensure that the auction is transparent," Tewari said.

At present 86 cities are covered by FM radio services.