"We have apprised the PMO about the objections of the I&B Ministry...The issue could be referred to a group of secretaries," a senior HRD Ministry official said.
The human resources development ministry had initiated steps to launch the first 50 of the 1,000 proposed educational channels and had approached the I&B Ministry for permission for uplinking and downlinking the channels.
The I&B Ministry, however, held back its permission to launch the channels as under the present guidelines, only companies registered under the Companies Act can operate a TV channel. The HRD ministry is not a registered company, so unless amendments are made to the existing law, it would not be possible to grant permission to the HRD ministry.
However, HRD ministry officials said the mission is high on their agenda and content development of the channels will go on despite objections to launch of the channels.
The proposed channels were part of the National Mission of Education through Information and Communication Technology initiative.
HRD ministry has even asked premier educational institutions to prepare lectures and educational material that can be telecast once the channels are launched.
