CAS: Vajpayee for focus on consumer

The I&B Ministry has been asked to tie up all loose ends for a smooth implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) by July 15. This...

The I&B Ministry has been asked to tie up all loose ends for a smooth implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) by July 15. This order from PM A.B. Vajpayee came today following an hour-long meeting with I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and senior officials.

It is understood that the PM not only expressed concern at the prevailing confusion over the technology the ministry sought to introduce, he advised ministry officials to shift the focus on consumers, in short to reverse the triangle of the cable business. ‘‘Begin with the consumer first and move on to the cable operator and then the broadcaster,’’ he is believed to have told the minister.

It is also learnt that the ministry will come out with a series of public service messages to dispel doubts and inform the consumer on CAS.

Among the senior aides present were Principal Secretary to the PM, Brajesh Mishra, Additional Secretary in the PMO, Pradipto Ghosh, I&B Secretary Pawan Chopra and Additional Secretary Vijay Singh.

It was in the last day of the winter session of Parliament that the Amendments to the Cable Regulation Networks Act was passed in Rajya Sabha after it was excluded twice by the Business Advisory Committee, which allocates the business of the House.

Broadly, the Act makes it mandatory for all pay channels to be routed through a set-top box, price of which ranges from Rs 4000-Rs 7000, to be made available through the cable operator by July 14, the deadline set by the Government.

Meanwhile, consumer action groups are also raising their voice against what they perceive as a hasty implementation of the system. The Consumer Coordination Council — with representatives from Chennai, Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai — met today and demanded a regulatory authority to be put in place before CAS was implemented.

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The representatives also threatened to move the courts, for what they said was a hasty implementation of a project that would put the consumer at disadvantage.

‘‘Where do I purchase the box? What do I get for Rs 4000 and Rs 7000? Why should I make the choice when it was available for a price announced by the cable operator? As a consumer, I have a right to be informed,’’ argued S. Krishnan director of the Consumer Coordination Council.