Mahajan spoke with The Financial Express about the performance of the ministry under him and more. Excerpts:

Are you satisfied with I&B ministry's performance under you?
I am quite satisfied with the progress made under me in the different departments of the ministry. DD and AIR have both become much more professional especially in terms of news gathering and presentation though, a lot is left tobe achieved. DAVP, too, has performed well as we have received feedback regarding advertisements which are believed to be not looking like the usual. The department also resumed publishing the Indian Yearbook in 1998.

You had also taken up various policies? How far do you feel have the targets been achieved?
I have tried to address various segments of the media so that a comprehensive scenario can emerge. I have tried to make things easier for the film industry. They have been quite happy with the current year's Budget in which media software export was exempted from income tax. Further, the second phase of uplinking was announced and implemented. The latest have been private participation local radio network. The I&B ministry is on the verge of giving final form to the tender documents and is expected to allot the frequencies within one year. I want people to have their local stations which give them a scope to have local cultural elements as part of their entertainment.

What is happeningat the direct-to-home broadcasting front?
Following Prasar Bharati's request, the I&B ministry has placed the note before the group of ministers headed by the union home minister LK Advani. The GoM's decision is due within a week after which it would depend on the Election Commission to allow or disallow DD from entering DTH. Currently, three views have emerged regarding DTH. Firstly, in a liberalised climate both public as well as private players should be allowed to offer DTH services. The second view is, in the face of strong criticism from various political circles and absence of a regulatory mechanism it would be improper to open the segment for all. And, lastly, DTH seems to be the real mode of communication in future so it will be not be proper for the government to allow it in haste.

What future do you see for the film industry following the policy decisions you took?
We have already achieved the target of giving the film sector some relief in the Budget. The I&B secretary is nowthe finance secretary and I hope he plays an important role in extending further incentives to the industry in future budgets. The supreme court has also recently given its decision in favour of theatres contributing a part of their income to Films Division and screening of documentaries has again been made mandatory. I think things are improving for the film sector.

Do you think the government stands to gain from the FM bidding process?
The government does not have to spend a penny for FM broadcasting and for me it is selling contract for air. The frequencies are not state property and if they are not used they would have no use for anybody. If out of the entire process the government earns a revenue of Rs 50 crore it will come free. My intention was to create business before taxing it. I do not want private FM radio broadcast to run into a mess like the telecommunication sector.

With such rapid development in the broadcasting sector what changes should take place at the level of apolicy-maker?
The need of the hour is to create a ministry of informatics comprising ministries of information and broadcasting, communications, department of electronics and department of science and technology. There is need for a synergy between all these ministries/departments to take faster decisions as well as understanding the full implication of a new technology.

Do you think regulation is still an important factor in the broadcasting industry?
The 21st century would be an age of information and those who control the media would be controlling the world. A regulatory mechanism is indeed needed to keep a watch on the Ku-band and C-band and similar other issues.