Declaring a major relief for Over-The-Top Platforms (OTTs), the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on June 20, 2024 declared, that no regulatory mechanism is required to govern the OTT platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. 

The regulator, while emphasising on the potential of the OTT sector in boosting the growth of the country's economy, called it the ‘sunrise sector’. The imposition of regulations was opposed by stakeholders by citing it as a hurdle in ‘ease of doing business’. 

While adding to the concerns of the stakeholder, TRAI stated, “There is no requirement for establishing a converged legal, administrative, regulatory and licensing framework. Rather, the focus should be on promoting ease of doing business (EoDB) in the sector by streamlining the process of seeking permissions. One of the ways to promote EoDB is by granting infrastructure status.”

Recommendations For National Broadcasting Policy, 2024 By TRAI

The recommendations issued by TRAI have been made with regards to the mission of making India a ‘broadcasting hub’ and a global leader in the broadcasting sector. A blueprint has been laid out for the next 10 years, with a special focus on the upcoming 5 years. The following recommendations have been made with regards to the policy: 

Propelling Growth

• Establishment of a robust broadcasting ecosystem by implementing regulations through data-driven governance and growth-oriented policies.

• Promotion of indigenous manufacturing, research and development, tech-oriented infrastructure and innovation.

• Promotion of Ease of Doing Business, health competition and generation of employment opportunities and skill development. 

Promotion of Content

• Making India a global ‘content hub’, supporting generation of quality content and distribution services. 

• To promote India as a content creation destination.

• Creation of content for public education, awareness and entertainment.

• Promotion of Indian content through different visual forms. 

Protection of Interests

• Protecting the rights of content creators and right holders through copyright management. 

• Green broadcasting and disaster preparation as environmental responsibilities and fulfilment of social responsibility by dissemination of information across all stratas of society and the country. 

The recommendations made by TRAI are stakeholder centric and emphasise singularly on each of them by addressing creator, owner and consumer concerns.

The aim of the policy is to foster an inclusive as well as dynamic growth of the broadcasting sector. Technology adoption is being promoted to provide an immersive and enriching experience to the consumers while maintaining cost-efficiency. 

Background Of The Recommendations

The formulation of National Broadcasting Policy is an underlying objective of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). It had sought and requested for inputs from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India through a letter on July 13, 2023 under Section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority Act, 1997.

Acting upon this request, the TRAI issued a pre-consultation paper to seek information and elucidate on the issues that required consideration on the formulation of National Broadcasting Policy. A consultation paper titled “Inputs for Formulation of National Broadcasting Policy-2024” was released on April 2, 2024 following discussions held with stakeholders and comments that were received. 

An Open House Discussion (OHD) was held on May 15, 2024 and after analysing all the comments and recommendations duly made, the recommendations were put forth. 

Conclusion

India’s soft image is being strengthened by promoting a competitive and affordable system of broadcasting. The focus on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ is intended to achieve a great deal of employment opportunities, invite investments and to position ‘Brand India’ globally. 

Learn more about the initiative of TRAI in regulating the telecom sector by reading about TRAI’s New Rules For SIM-Card Users.

For queries or more information, reach out to TRAI by calling 1800-111-999 or drop a mail at contact@trai.gov.in. The strategies promoted through these recommendations can be found on TRAI’s website.