But it would not take more than three months to get it from the ministry, headded. The minister, however, refused to give a time frame for theintroduction of the Bill in the Lok Sabha. "It won't take much time once thematter has been sorted out," he said. Jaitley was speaking at aninternational conference, organised by Ficci, on Thursday, on "The Businessof Entertainment: India- Opportunities in the 21st Century". The ministeralso released the report on "Entertainment Industry: Strategy andVision".

To meet the fast-changing technology needs, there would be scope for"subordinate legislation", Jaitley said. India was on the threshold ofbecoming a superpower in information technology. "We are creating a properlegislative framework in which this industry can grow. We should have aneffective communication in which entertainment becomes a lucrative option,"he said. If cable operators continue to under-declare their subscribers, paychannels would increase their pricing. This would be bad for consumers, hepointed out.

Representatives from the media agreed that there was tremendous potentialfor the entertainment industry. Zee Telefilms chief executive officer R KSingh said the digital domain, multiple forms of carriage and the growth ofthe economy were leading to a conducive environment for the vibrant growthof this sector.

Discovery Communications India managing director Kiran Karnik believedconvergence was not a threat but "an opportunity" for broadcasters.

Dispelling doubts that broadcasters would take a back seat in theconvergence era, he said "more was happening on technology and less on theuser front." Viewers would stay with TV watching, he said. Broadcastingcompanies would have to change their business models. "We have to depend onadvertising and subscription revenue. The entire industry should pushtowards that. Viewers will have to shell out more money," Karnik said.