News Broadcasting
IBF petitions Swaraj for tax sops
NEW DELHI: Broadcasters operating in India have sought relief from the government, including tax sops.
They met information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj recently under the aegis of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) as part of a pre-Budget meeting and submitted a memorandum on the issues they want resolved.
“The IBF members did meet me to present their pre-Budget memorandum and I have assured them that the ministry will do its utmost to have the grievances redressed,” Swaraj said today, adding that the broadcasters also lauded the government’s initiative on conditional access and extended help in bringing about addressability in Indian cable homes.
The three main issues that the broadcasters want resolved or looked into by the government are:
– Waiver of five per cent service tax imposed on broadcasting services
– Lowering of customs duty on equipment meant for broadcasting
– Resolving the issues of tax that is deducted at source by the government.
According to Swaraj, while the first two issues are likely to be taken up by her during her meetings with finance minister Jaswant Singh, she advised the broadcasters to petition the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on the last issue.
During 2001-02, the government had levied five per cent service charge on the likes of studio and recording facilities that, the broadcasting industry had said, would have a negative impact on a sector which was still developing in India.
Since then the issue has cropped up time and again and, earlier this year even resulted in some broadcasters like Star India and Sony Entertainment TV India refusing advertisements from companies and their agencies which did not include five per cent service tax in the release order.
On the customs duty, the IBF’s viewpoint is that the various duties levied on equipment meant for broadcasting is not at par with those meant for the IT industry, even when the same equipment was used by both the IT and broadcasting industries.
“The broadcasters felt a separate duty is levied on a equipment which they brought in , while a lower duty was levied when the same equipment was brought by the IT industry. This, according to them, was a discriminatory practice which should be removed,” Swaraj said.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
