Centre Pulls Back Draft Of Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced on Monday that it will release a new draft of the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill. This decision follows allegations from the Opposition that a revised version of the draft had been “secretly” distributed to a select group of stakeholders.

According to the ministry’s statement, the original draft Bill was made publicly available on November 11, 2023, along with explanatory notes for stakeholder and public review. The ministry has since received numerous recommendations, comments, and suggestions, including input from various associations, and is conducting a series of consultations with stakeholders.

To ensure thorough feedback, the ministry has extended the deadline for submitting comments and suggestions to October 15. A revised draft will be issued after these consultations are completed.

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Recently, social media posts claimed that details of the revised bill had been leaked to select industry stakeholders, sparking criticism from some content creators. The ministry is addressing these concerns as it moves forward with the consultation process.