Indians can now tune into Al-Jazeera

Indian television viewers can now tune into Al-Jazeera,with the government granting licence to the Qatar-based English news channel after a four-year wait.

Al-Jazeera has been given permission for downlinking their channel as per Indian norms, a senior Information and Broadcasting Ministry official told PTI here today.

Al-Jazeera English is pleased to announce that the channel has been granted a downlinking licence to broadcast in India, the channel,which has its headquarters in Doha,said in a statement. However,it did not comment on the exact date of launch in India.

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The signal of the news network can now be downlinked by the cable operators and satellite TV companies across the country for broadcasting the free-to-air channel on TV sets as part of their current line-up.

The channel is now in the process of sending the information on it obtaining the licence to the cable operators so that they can begin downlinking the signals, the IB Ministry official said,requesting anonymity.

It is also in the process of approaching the Direct-to-Home operators, he added.

Al-Jazeera had applied for licence in 2006 and was granted permission last week.

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The channel said it had already received indication from a number of service providers that they would air the channel.

This is an exciting breakthrough that has been in the works for several years,and we are extremely pleased that Al-Jazeera Englishs groundbreaking news and programming will soon be available in India, the channels managing director Al Anstey said.

Al Jazeera is already presenting important stories from India to global audience in more than 100 countries, he added.

The channel was initially launched in 1996 as an Arabic news satellite TV channel,but has since expanded to being a network of several outlets including an Internet service and other language channels.

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The channel gained worldwide attention after it started covering the US war on terror live from Afghanistan by opening an office there following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centres twin towers and the Pentagon.

It also gained prominence by airing the video tapes of al-Qaeda leadership,in particular the statements of the outfits most visible face,Osama bin Laden,after the 9/11 terror strike.

Al Jazeera English currently has a bureau in New Delhi,which has covered major stories of international significance including 26/11 Mumbai siege,2009 general elections,the Commonwealth Games this year and President Barack Obamas visit to India last month.