(26 December 2005 5:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: The government is examining the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations for a national plan for digitalisation of cable television.

Informing fellow parliamentarians, information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi today said in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) that the recommendations are being studied for feasibility of implementation.

However, he gave no time frame to a government decision on this.

In September, Trai had recommended there should be a national plan for digitalisation from 1 April, 2006 till 31 March, 2010, coinciding with the holding of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

The essential features of this plan are:

• Introduction of digital service in all cities/urban agglomerations with a population of over one million by 2010. All existing analogue service will continue simultaneously.
• Licensing for new entrants and automatic licensing for existing operators.
• Rationalisation of import and domestic duties by 1 April, 2006.
• Usage of entertainment tax for a consumer education programme during these four years (2006-10).

The minister also informed Lok Sabha that there were 302 instances of violations of censors) during 2005 that have come to the notice of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC

This included 104 violations in Thiruvananthapuram, 100 in Bangalore, 45 in Chennai, 22 in Delhi, 20 in Kolkata, six in Hyderabad and five in Mumbai.

The enforcement of the penal provisions of the Cinematograph Act lies with the state governments/Union Territories.

However, to strengthen the hands of the states in detecting violations of the Cinematograph Act and the federal government has evolved a scheme for appointment of private detective agencies for all the nine regions of CBFC, the minister said.

These agencies assist in checking violations by conducting raids in cinema theatres and filing of reports with the police.