Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised that the proposed Broadcasting Services Bill will undergo comprehensive consultations. The government is “very open-minded” to suggestions from all stakeholders in this regard.
The minister emphasised that the goal is to support and promote the content creator economy, rather than hinder it.
A revised draft of the Bill, which was reportedly circulated selectively by the government, faced significant criticism, especially from the online content creator community. The Bill was initially released for public review in November of the previous year, followed by consultations with a range of stakeholders.
Reports quoted Vaishnaw saying, “We are very flexible, we are very open-minded, We want this entire new medium to flourish. We will have very extensive consultations then look at the form and content of the bill.”
He noted that in recent years, a burgeoning content creator economy has developed nationwide, with government support actively fostering the growth of this expanding sector.
“Our intent is not to discourage it. Our intent is to encourage it. Our intent is that this is giving more opportunities to express, share and create new intellectual property,” Vaishnaw said.
The selective dissemination of the Bill has faced criticism from media organisations like DigiPub and the Editors Guild of India. They argue that digital media organisations and civil society groups were not consulted prior to this action.
The government acknowledged receiving a wide range of recommendations, comments, and suggestions from various associations.
“In the case of the Broadcasting Services Bill, our thought process is we must encourage new technology, we must encourage new forms of creating content. We must encourage new mediums of sharing content, that will require a huge amount of consultation,” the Minister stated.
Under criticism for the bill, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry announced last week that a fresh draft of the bill will be released following detailed consultations.
