The broadcasters, who have been given permission to run their operations, usually for a period of 10 years, can uplink or downlink content without having to obtain "annual renewal", Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.
"As part of the government's initiative of ease of doing business, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has completely done away with the process of obtaining an annual renewal for TV channels in the current form," he said.
This decision, the minister said, would benefit a total of 963 channels and teleports.
The I&B ministry, Naidu said, was committed to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote ease of doing business and will continue to take more steps in consultation with stakeholders.
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The minister, who was addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here, also lauded the government's decision to demonetise Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes, saying the Prime Minister wants to realise 'Swachh Bharat' (Clean India), in terms of 'tan', 'man' and 'dhan' (body, mind and wealth).
The payment of annual permission fee 60 days before the due date will by itself be sufficient permission for continuation of a channel for a further period of one year from the due date provided the validity of 10 year permission is available, it added.
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