Convergence laws in India are in the process of formulation and so are policy related matters. Though the Communication Convergence Bill, 2001 has been formulated, it seems it has not been notified yet. According to experts like Praveen Dalal “India needs strong and effective convergence laws to meet the conflicting mandates of cyber security and free and open access to the telecommunication methods”.Recently a task force for broadcasting authority of India has been constituted by the government of India. This announcement has been made after the recent constitution of a committee by the Delhi High Court.
There is an emergent need of formulating suitable policies and regulations in this regard. This requirement has been avoided by the government of India for a long period of time. India Government needs to come up with suitable policies and guidelines for effective convergence situation. With the growing demand for spectrum and Internet services, the government has to play a pro-active role so that the supply may match demand, says Praveen Dalal.
The Central Government of India is in the process of creating Broadcasting Authority of India (BAI) that would encompass all the television channels in the nation. The present Press Act of India is around 140-year old and requires changes with the current scenario of broadcasting industry in India. For this the government will be setting up a committee to provide recommendations on the same. Besides, the body is also expected to be considering issues such as that of spectrum and taxation for the media and broadcasting industry.
The government of India has lingered long upon important issues like spectrum allocation, wireless connectivity, rural connectivity, unlicensed spectrum management, etc. It is high time for it to do something in this regard.
