News Broadcasting
GoM clears draft convergence bill, looks at super regulator
The group of ministers (GoM) on information technology and telecom, headed by finance minister Yashwant Sinha, on Tuesday approved the draft Communications and Convergence Bill 2001 setting in motion the process of creating a super regulator which will have the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the proposed broadcasting authority subservient to it.
Everything connected with telecommunication and broadcasting, and other communications, including all aspects of convergence in these services, would come under the commission’s purview.
The super regulator, to be called the Communications Commission of India (CCI), will be established on the lines of the Federal Communications Commission of the US, according to the Business Standard. The draft bill was based on the recommendations made by a panel led by legal expert Fali S Nariman.
The CCI will be empowered to issue all licences, including composite licences for communication facilities and services, to facilitate and regulate all aspects of telecom, broadcasting and other communication including all aspects of convergence in these services, to determine regulations, codes and technical standards, to determine and levy license fee wherever required and to determine tariff and rates for licensed services wherever necessary, the Hindu Businessline reported.
The passage of the Bill involves the repeal of at least five laws and also covers certain aspects of the Information Act 2000 that are administered by the telecom, IT and broadcasting Ministries. The proposed Bill is likely to deal with the consolidation and management of the provisions of the Indian Telegraphs Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, the Telegraph Wire Unlawful Possession Act, 1950 and the TRAI.
It will also lead to the repeal of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, which is under the purview of the I&B Ministry.
So is the era of convergence finally at hand? Not just yet and maybe not for a while if the government’s record on the matter thus far is anything to go by.
IT Minister Pramod Mahajan has promised the bill, which has over 100 clauses, will be introduced in Parliament in the first week of May.
Before that it will first be put on the Web to get feedback from various sections of the industry.
This is supposed to happen within a week. The responses are expected to come in by 25 February. Nariman is then expected to scrutinise the responses and the GoM is to meet again in April to incorporate any changes, if required.
If there are no differences within the GoM at that stage, the bill will be placed before the cabinet in April-end and in the first week of May, it is scheduled to be introduced in Parliament. The bill will then be sent to the standing committee, and is expected to be passed either in the winter session of 2001 or in the Budget session of 2002.
Mahajan has said the bill will be implemented in its full form in early 2002. That is the schedule as of now. How the whole thing finally unravels we’ll have to wait and watch.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
