The government on Tuesday approved the amendments of certain provisions contained in the Policy Guidelines on Expansion of FM Radio Broadcasting Services through Private Agencies (Phase-III), referred to as Private FM Phase-III Policy Guidelines. The decision was taken in the last cabinet meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As per the amendments, the government has decided to remove the three-year window period for restructuring FM radio permissions within the same management group during the license period of 15 years. The government has also accepted the long pending demand of the radio industry to remove the 15% national cap on channel holding. Furthermore, with the simplification of financial eligibility norms in FM radio policy, an applicant company can now participate in bidding for ‘C’ and ‘D’ category cities with a net worth of just Rs one crore in place of Rs 1.5 crore earlier.
According to the cabinet, these three amendments together will help the private FM radio industry to fully leverage the economies of scale and pave the way for further expansion of FM radio and entertainment to tier 3 cities in the country. “This will not only create new employment opportunities but also ensure that music and entertainment over the free-to-air (FTA) radio media is available to the common man in the remotest corners of the country,” the government added.
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