MAM
I&B calls AAAI, ISA for meet on 4 Sept over TV ratings issue
NEW DELHI: The pressure on TAM Media Research, India‘s sole television ratings provider, is just not easing. The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has decided to act in response to the NDTV lawsuit against the corrupt television ratings and the demand by News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for its intervention.
After reportedly asking television ratings provider TAM Media Research and its 50 per cent owner Nielsen to submit a report on the status of the plans to make the ratings system robust, the ministry has convened a meeting with the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) on Tuesday, 4 September.
The meeting with AAAI and ISA is being held amid raging controversy over the credibility of television viewership ratings, after NDTV (New Delhi Television Ltd) filed a lawsuit in New York against TAM, its owners Nielsen and WPP and their officials.
The meeting is also happening in the backdrop of a delay in operationalising the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which is to be jointly set up by Indian Broadcasting Foundation, AAAI and ISA.
Sources close to the I&B ministry have confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that the meeting has been scheduled on Tuesday.
According to a media report, the government has given to TAM 10 days and Nielsen two weeks to reply. The report said the government has also sought information from TAM and Nielsen on generation of viewership data from towns with less than 1 lakh of population and from north-east states and Jammu & Kashmir.
“This has gone too far,” said the CEO of a media agency, suggesting that the meeting is a fallout of the war of words between WPP and NDTV.
Leo Burnett chairman of India Subcontinent Arvind Sharma declined to talk on the meeting but referring to the media report said, “I can‘t blame the government for being concerned over what all is happening in media. The long term solution is that via the three players – AAAI, ISA and IBF – creation of BARC should be speeded up. One has to understand that there has to be a reliable, transparent medium. What government wants is similar to what we want and there isn‘t any contradiction.”
Sharma said TAM has been giving AAAI and ISA progress reports since their meeting on 16 August. During the meeting, TAM had outlined a six-point action plan that included appointment of a security officer and a security agency, expansion in the number of homes with peoplemeters in the six top metros, an industry review of the viewership research processes, independent audit of outlier homes, faster rotation of the peoplemeter homes and setting up of an internal audit team.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Star India CEO Uday Shankar said: “I am glad that I&B Ministry has asked TAM to explain but how do we know that how many boxes are functional? There is no system of public audit. How do we know that the data which is collected has no uncertainty in that?”
Shankar further said, “TAM is clouded in secrecy and according to me anything that isn‘t transparent and is under secrecy is subject to distortion and corruption.”
Buying family medical insurance online in India has become a common option for individuals who want to secure health coverage for multiple family members under a single policy. However, many buyers are unsure about the exact steps involved in selecting and purchasing the right plan online.
In this guide, you will know the step-by-step process of buying family medical insurance online in India, along with the key factors to review before purchasing a suitable policy.
Step 1: Assess Your Family’s Healthcare Needs
Before buying online health insurance, check the healthcare needs of all family members. Check age, existing illnesses, regular medicines, and the likely need for hospital care later. This helps in selecting a suitable sum insured, policy type, and level of cover. It also reduces the chance of buying a plan that appears suitable but does not meet actual medical needs.
Step 2: Visit the Insurance Company’s Official Website
After understanding the family’s needs, visit the insurer’s official website and read the plan details carefully. Use the official platform to review eligibility, policy wording, waiting periods, cover details, exclusions, and renewal terms.
This step gives a clearer understanding of how the policy works before payment is made. It also helps avoid confusion caused by incomplete summaries on other pages.
Step 3: Compare Available Family Health Insurance Plans
A family medical insurance policy should be compared on factors beyond the premium. Review the sum insured, hospital network, room rent limits, pre- and post-hospitalisation cover, daycare treatment coverage, and waiting periods. It is also important to check treatment sub-limits and specific policy conditions.
Careful comparison helps determine whether a plan provides balanced coverage and whether its terms are suitable for the healthcare needs of the entire family.
Step 4: Choose the Right Policy and Start the Online Purchase
Once the options have been compared, select the policy that best fits the family’s medical needs and budget. Before starting the application, review the covered members, policy term, benefits, and main conditions again. This is an important stage because errors here can lead to the wrong cover amount, an unsuitable variant, or missing details that create problems during policy use.
Step 5: Calculate the Premium Using an Online Calculator
Use the online premium calculator before making the final choice. Enter the correct details, including age, city, number of insured members, and selected cover amount. The result helps in understanding the expected premium and whether the policy fits the annual budget. This step is useful because it allows cost and coverage to be reviewed together, instead of choosing a plan only because the premium looks lower.
Step 6: Fill in Personal and Medical Details
When filling in the proposal form, provide accurate details for each insured member. This includes name, date of birth, contact details, medical history, ongoing treatment, and previous insurance information if required.
Every answer should be complete and truthful. Incorrect or missing details can create difficulty later. Before you submit the form, read every section again and correct any mistakes.
Step 7: Make Payment Through the Secure Payment Gateway
After checking the form, go to the payment page and complete the transaction through the secure payment gateway. Review the premium, policy term, and entered details once more before confirming payment.
After the transaction is completed, save the receipt, reference number, or confirmation message carefully. Keeping this record is useful if you need to track the purchase or follow up on policy issuance later.
Step 8: Download and Keep Your Policy Document Safely
Once the policy is issued, download the policy document, schedule, and any related papers without delay. Read them carefully to confirm member names, policy period, sum insured, and major terms. Save a digital copy in a secure folder and keep a printed copy if needed. Proper record keeping makes future renewals, document checks, and policy servicing easier and more organised when information is required quickly.
Conclusion
Buying health cover online becomes easier when you handle each step with attention. From checking your family’s needs to reading the final document, every stage helps you make an informed choice. A careful approach can reduce mistakes, improve your understanding of policy terms, and help you choose coverage that matches your household’s medical needs, financial capacity, and long-term healthcare planning in a reliable way for your family over the long term.
