Says Mr Bhuvan Lall, executive director, IBF: ``We feel that there should be a proper, fair and genuine system of rating TV programmes.'' In line with that objective, IBF is putting together a technical committee to prescribe the technical specifications for a rating system which would be valid for India.

The IBF review committee is expected to present a final report in the next three to four months, Mr Lall said. The committee will have representatives from all major broadcasters/TV channels. The broadcasters on this committee, said Mr Lall, will be part of the 29-member IBF.

After the IBF review committee comes out with its report, independent rating agencies that broadcasters subscribe to will have to conform to the guidelines in the report, according to Mr Lall. The IBF expects the initiative to be the first step in offering a fair rating system for TV programmes.

Mr Lall denied that the IBF was setting up the review committee in response to any complaint from any specific channel on the prevalent rating system. He added: ``It's the view of the IBF members to set up the committee.'' Rating of TV programmes is a major issue in the industry, and the IBF is determined to address all issues that impact the industry as a whole, said Mr Lall. The IBF has 29 members including representatives of Doordarshan, Star, Zee, Sony, Discovery, TV Today, Sahara, ESPN, BBC, UTV, Enadu, Sabe and Sun among others. Recently, Mr RR Shah, CEO, Prasar Bharati, was re-elected the president, IBF, while Mr Kiran Karnik, MD, Discovery Channel, and Mr Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, Sony Television, were chosen as vice-president and treasurer of the IBF board, respectively.