I&B bridges disconnect with VSNL on uplinking

Was Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd playing censor? Or was it a communication gap between the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) and IT ministries?La...

Was Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd playing censor? Or was it a communication gap between the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) and IT ministries?

Late last week, when foreign news channels including BBC, CNN and NHK queued up outside the I&B ministry after VSNL blocked them from uplinking their recorded feed, they could have gone off the screens if I&B minister Jaipal Reddy had not intervened.

Reddy said it was a communication gap between VSNL and his ministry. . Clarifies Reddy, “The channels send recorded tapes and that was communicated to VSNL”.

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According to I&B ministry, foreign channels must seek temporary permission for uplinking content from India. But authorities have so far insisted only for permissions to transmit live feed, sources said.

BBC South Asia bureau chief Paul Danahar said, “We are pleased with the efficiency with which the government fixed what was a minor bureaucratic change in VSNL, which had unforeseen consequences for the foreign media”.

Union minister for communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran said: “It is mandatory for channels to keep recordings as per I&B rules. This is nothing new.” But surely, that is for the I&B to decide.

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