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“The EGoM had cleared the proposed changes in the RFP (request for proposal) for auction of FM radio in phase-III and we will issue auction guidelines soon,” I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said here on the sidelines of CASBAA India Forum 2013.
The government aims to collect about Rs 1,500 crore by auctioning the licences for 839-FM radio channels in phase-III, he added. “We should be able to complete the auction of all the 839 radio stations this year.”
The government has earned about Rs 1,733 crore till May 31, 2011, from one-time entry fee, migration fee and annual fee from FM radio operators.
In his Budget speech, Chidambaram had said the government proposes to expand private FM radio services to 294 cities. After the auction, all cities having a population of more than 100,000 will be covered by private FM radio services. Eighty-six cities are covered by FM radio stations.
One of the changes proposed by the I&B ministry was a change in the licence fee, which was linked to the percentage of total revenue generated as in the case of telecom licences.
The ministry said this model should not be followed as the revenues in the case of radio stations are lower.
