JAIN STUDIOS RUNS INTO UPLINKING
ROAD BLOCK
A grand proposal of Jain Studios
Ltd (JSL), promoted by former right wing Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament, Dr. J.K.
Jain and running the affairs of satellite channel
Jain TV, has run into problem with the Indian government.
JSL is likely to be asked by the government to dilute
20 per cent foreign equity if it wishes to get a
no-objection from the ministry for uplinking purposes.
JSL has applied to the Foreign
Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking permission
for increased business activity, including providing
Internet-related services, setting up an earth station/gateway
at Noida, few km from Delhi and uplink from there
for Jain TV, a satellite channel. The information
and broadcasting (I&B) ministry, the nodal agency
for all broadcasting-related foreign direct investment
proposals, in its reply to the industry ministry,
under whose jurisdiction the FIPB comes, has said
that the present uplinking policy allows only those
Indian companies to uplink directly to satellites
from India where the foreign equity is limited to
20 per cent.
In JSL, since non-resident Indians
and others too have invested, the foreign equity
component is about 40 per cent, almost the double
what the present uplink policy permits. JSL was
allowed in the mid-90s to have investments from
NRIs upto 40 per cent.
JSL, after hibernating for few
years, now has not only relaunched Jain TV as a
news and current affairs channel, but has also drawn
up plans to expand its business activities to issues
related to information technology. In its application
to the government JSL has stated that the company
would like to get into the business of Internet
Service Providing, electronic data interchange,
electronic trading, robotics, creation and provision
of value-added telecom, etc. The company has said
that it will undertake also " setting up software
technology parks, earth stations gateways, broadcasting
and multicasting projects related to radio or TV
whether through satellite or terrestrially or otherwise
of voice, data as permitted by governments regualtory
authorities in any part of the country to promote
software exports, manpower exports."
The IT-related projects are:
* Setting up gateway earth station at Noida.
* Internet services to provide dial up and leased
access, value-added and content services.
* Satellite home shopping TV channel.
The company has already obtained
an ISP licence and is planning to set up an international
gateway earth station for Internet and the uplinking
facility for broadcasting.
