Storm clouds of a different kind are gathering on the macro-economic horizon and they have nothing to do with surging global crude oil prices. The monsoon has played truant across large parts of India, with western and southern India reeling under the impact of deficient and scanty rainfall
This follows the show-cause notice that was issued to the company last month by the ministry of informaton and broadcasting and the response given by the company. According to highly placed sources, the letter of suspension of Bharti's DTH licence has been moved within the I&B ministry because it is not satisfied with the response sent by Bharti Telemedia.
Swan Telecom, which has received licences to operate mobile phone services in 13 out of the 22 telecom circles in India, is in talks with foreign companies for diluting 26 per cent of its equity for around $470 million.
It's going to be a field day for the 40-odd news channels in the country as they gear up to cover the UPA Government's trust vote on July 22.
Officials in the finance ministry are not happy with credit rating agency Fitch's revision of India's local currency outlook to negative from stable. Officials say Fitch's conclusion that the central government's fiscal deficit will rise to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2008-09, as against 2.8 per cent in the previous fiscal, is wrong.
Soon after the trust vote in Parliament on July 22, the finance ministry hopes to push through a series of non-legislative reforms, chief among them disinvestment of minority stakes in around 10 central public sector undertakings by listing them on the stock market.
The government's 2006 directive making it mandatory for private broadcasters to share the feed of sports events of "national importance" with state-owned Doordarshan seems to have backfired.
In a yet another bailout that will go down well with the political class, the government has proposed one-time assistance to state government and private universities and colleges that do not get any financial assistance from the University Grants Commission, the country's higher education standards regulator, which also funds institutions.
Against the background of growing political uncertainty, the Centre is planning two Ordinances to fast-track the creation of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology and 16 central universities.
IPTV and Mobile TV, the new cable distribution platforms that have emerged recently. A clarification issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting recently makes it compulsory for all broadcasters to immediately share their channels with Wire & Wireless India Ltd, the HITS licence holding company of Essel Group.
The United Progressive Alliance plans to take advantage of the exit of the Left from its governing partnership to move swiftly on next-generation reforms like 100 per cent foreign direct investment in telecom services.
For the first time, the government is considering the merits of a tariff policy to contain prices that could include allowing external agencies to import commodities and cultivating some essential crops overseas. An inter-departmental team from the ministries of finance, food and consumer affairs and commerce has been asked to work out a strategy to this effect.The finance ministry's department of economic affairs has submitted its views and a final paper is under preparation
The health ministry plans to oppose the application from Japan Tobacco International Ltd, the world's third largest tobacco company, to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to raise its stake in its Indian venture from 50 to 74 per cent. The application is slated for consideration in the FIPB meeting on Tuesday.
At least half a dozen foreign satellite firms with over 100 C-band transponders have initiated their talks with domestic media firms which are interested in launching headend-in-the-sky cable distribution platform.
In a sure sign that recent changes in the business of cricket are here to stay, Saturday's India-Pakistan one-day final of a tri-series failed to attract television viewers to the extent recent Indian Premier League matches did.
Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports and direct-to-home operator Tata Sky may soon get entangled in a legal battle as Tata Sky has dropped ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket from its basic package offerings. The move, according to ESPN's lawyers, may go against a recent Delhi high court order that restrains Tata Sky to do so, but the second largest DTH operator maintains that it is operating within the permissible rules.
This means the cable companies engaged in last-mile distribution of TV channels will qualify for the existing 49 per cent FDI limit, while operators of DTH, HITS, IPTV and multi-system operators will be able to bring in up to 74 per cent FDI, a limit proposed by broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Even if our findings are not to the liking of our sponsor groups, we always stand by them, Icrier Director and Chief Executive Rajiv Kumar tells Business Standard. The study took a long time to come and the perception is that the data have been 'fixed' to arrive at tailor-made conclusions that suit the government (the sponsor of the study).
This move will make Dish TV, an Essel Group company, the first DTH operator to have installed their DTH services in consumer homes, cars, buses, aircraft, cruise liners and on trains. "Dish everywhere is our motto. We aim to provide our DTH services across all platforms, whether moving, flying or stationary," a senior Dish TV executive said. This move is likely to help the company market its services to the potential consumers more effectively.
The regulator may ask broadcasters to abide by the tribunal's pricing formula.
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