Broadcasting Bill will have very extensive consultations: I&B Minister

New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said the proposed Broadcasting Services Bill will require extensive consultations and the government was "very open-minded" to suggestions from all stakeholders in this regard.

The intent is to encourage the content creator economy and not discourage it, the minister asserted.

A revised draft of the Bill, circulated selectively by the government, had drawn widespread criticism, particularly from the online content creators’ community which found certain provisions as "draconian.”

The Bill was first put in the public domain in November last year and consultations were on with various stakeholders in this regard.

"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," Vaishnaw told reporters.

He said over the past few years, a new content creator economy has emerged across the country and the government was encouraging this growing segment.

"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," the minister said.

The selective circulation of the Bill drew criticism from media bodies such as DigiPub and the Editors Guild of India which claimed that digital media organisations and civil society associations were not consulted on the move.

The government said in response that multiple recommendations, comments and suggestions were received including 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," Vaishnaw said.

A version of the draft bill sought to club online content creators with OTT and digital news broadcasters, bringing them under the ambit of the ministry's Content and Advertisement Code.

The provisions would have made it mandatory for individual online content creators to appoint a grievance redressal officer and a content evaluation committee once they crossed a certain number of subscribers.

Facing criticism over the bill, the I &B ministry had said last week that a fresh draft of the bill would be published after detailed consultation.