I&B Ministry
I&B pushing for CAS tabling next week
NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting ministry today is understood to be pushing ahead for the issue of conditional access system (CAS) to be included in the business agenda of the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) of the India Parliament next week.
A meeting relating to CAS was also held today at the I&B ministry and it was attended amongst other by the minister Sushma Swaraj and senior ministry officials, including joint secretary broadcasting Rakesh Mohan, who also happens to head the costing committee which is looking into the issue of pricing of the basic tier of free to air channels in a post-CAS era.
According to senior I&B ministry officials, the effort is to have the Cable TV Regulation Amendment Bill 2002, envisaging beinging addressability in Indian cable TV homes, being listed in Rajya Sabha for Monday which is an I&B ministry day. However, the tabling of the Bill, for which three hours has been set aside for debate, may still happen on some other day. The date has still to be definitely decided.
However, till early evening it was not clear whether CAS will be part of RS’s agenda fro the next week or not and what will be the strategy of the I&B ministry considering Opposition-dominated RS has been insisting on a debate on CAS before a nod is given..
The I&B ministry’s anxiety to have the CAS issue get the RS’ nod can be undertsandable, especially in the light of the tabling of a report in Parliament on the Communication Convergence Bill of the Standing Committee on IT and Telecom.
If Parliament in all its wisdom decides to go ahead with the legislation on convergence, envisaging a super-regulator for IT, telecom and broadcasting sectors, during this sesion only then CAS is likely to take a back seat.
As and when CCB is enacted into a law, most existing Acts amd rules and regulations meant for the IT, telecom and broadcasting sectors are to be subsumed into the bigger piece of legislation. This would also include the Cable TV (Network) regulation Act, 1995 which Swaraj wants to be amended to have the enabling clause on CAS to be included.
I&B Ministry
Government proposes scrapping film certification fast-track scheme
Priority route may be dropped to end queue-jumping and restore fairness
NEW DELHI: The government is set to press pause on the fast lane for film certification. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed scrapping the Priority Scheme under the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, a move that could end the practice of paying extra to move a film ahead in the queue.
In a public notice issued on 16 February, the ministry invited stakeholder comments on the proposal, with the consultation window open until 17 March.
The Priority Scheme, introduced in 2024, allowed filmmakers to request expedited certification by paying three times the standard examination fee. Under the rules, priority applications could be slotted ahead of regular submissions, effectively reshuffling the order of scrutiny.
What began as a provision for exceptional urgency, the ministry says, has gradually become business as usual. The result has been longer waits for films in the regular queue and concerns about fairness in what is meant to be a statutory, rule-based process.
Officials have flagged the risk of a two-tier system, where producers with deeper pockets could buy speed while smaller or independent filmmakers were left waiting their turn. The proposed amendment aims to remove that imbalance by restoring a single, orderly queue for all applicants.
If approved, the changes would remove the rule that permits priority screening upon payment of higher fees, as well as the provision that allows regional officers to alter the order of examination based on such requests. In effect, every film would move through certification strictly according to its place in line, unless a separate exceptional mechanism is introduced later.
For big-budget producers, the shift may mean factoring in longer lead times before release. Marketing campaigns, festival slots and box office calendars that once relied on a quick certification turnaround may need more careful planning.
Independent filmmakers, on the other hand, could find the playing field a little more level. Without a pay-to-fast-forward option, the queue may become slower for some, but fairer for all.
The government says the move is meant to restore equity, improve predictability and strengthen the integrity of the certification process. Whether removing the fast-track option reduces bottlenecks or simply redistributes the delays will depend on how efficiently the regular pipeline is managed in the months ahead.
