Uplinking guidelines may be reworked

These were: Star News8217; applicant company was just a front company for Star India which had both editorial and financial clout; the applicant Media Content and Communication Services MCCS has no power to raise equity or finances; it has no management or editorial control as required by the uplinking rules; the divested foreign equity has not been followed in the spirit of the guidelines.

Sources said, the group in the light of various concerns expressed has taken a serious note of the fact that Star8217;s application had circumvented the uplinking guidelines through a series of 8216;8216;interesting financial8217;8217; relationships with back-end companies. Star News channel has been given a series of temporary uplink permissions pending a final view on their application.

And in the event of a change in guidelines, Star will be allowed time to comply with new guidelines and will not be shut out, sources said. 8216;8216;We don8217;t want to shut any one out but the terms and conditions need to be followed,8217;8217; sources said.

The uplink guidelines were announced on March 26, and in light of Star News application, have been subject of intense debate. Broadly the guidelines stipulate a 26 per cent cap on foreign equity with editorial and management control in Indian hands. MCCS on the other hand, though Indian-managed is in the control of Star India, a 100 per cent Newcorp subsidiary.

Concerned about the matter, an Indian media group comprising Indian newspapers/magazine and television companies also feels that discrepancies in the foreign direct investment in newspapers and news channels must go. Members are also pushing for a 51 per cent stake by a single Indian shareholder, a view likely to gain currency if the rules are overhauled.

Sources indicated that a decision on the subject will be taken soon.