News channels like Star TV, Zee TV and CNBC will not be eligible to uplink from India with their existing equity structure.
The Cabinet today set a 26 per cent foreign investment cap on television news channels seeking to uplink from the country.
The ceiling would include foreign direct investment, foreign institutional investment, external borrowings and investment by non-resident Indians, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
However, the Cabinet has allowed channels like Zee TV, which uplinks from India, and CNBC, which uses a very small aperture terminal, to restructure their capital base within a year from the new guidelines being issued.
Star TV, which has proposed to start its news channel from April 1 through a wholly owned subsidiary, will have to apply afresh with a domestic partner having a 74 per cent stake.
The company
