The
Union Government’s revised guidelines for uplinking and downlinking of
satellite TV channels, aimed at making India a ‘teleport hub for other
countries’, include one new section ,the clause that states TV channels must
devote at least 30 minutes every day to content designed to promote ‘public
service and national interest’. The Cabinet has given its approval to
guidelines that have made it obligatory for TV channels to telecast such
content on eight themes — education and spread of literacy; agriculture and
rural development; health and family welfare; science and technology; welfare
of women; welfare of the weaker sections of society; protection of environment
and of cultural heritage; and national integration. The rationale for the move,
according to the policy document, lies in the fact that ‘airwaves/frequencies
are public property and need to be used in the best interest of the society’.
Though
the guidelines came into effect on November 9, the Ministry of Information
& Broadcasting has said that TV channels would be given time to
conceptualise and create content on the eight themes. The guidelines are
binding on all channels except foreign ones and those devoted to wildlife and
live telecast of sports. According to the ministry, in case any channel is
found to be non-compliant, an explanation will be sought from it.
The newspapers and TV channels today are full
of negative news in the country, while the fact is lot of positive things are
also taking place in the country and they must be brought to the notice of
common people. The media should not create an atmosphere of despondency that
this country has no future. Bad news is good news for media for increasing
their TRP, however in the interest of the country positive news also should be
given due importance. Most of the bad
news in the International Media is written by Indians who are who are have a
very negative opinion about their own country. This must stop.
On the face of it, there seems little to
fault in the choice of the eight themes or even the advisory — after all, the
idea of promoting ‘national interest’ is good. However, the real problem lies
in the interpretation of the term ‘national interest’.On the flip side, more
pliable channels could turn this 30-minute programming into advertorials. The
ministry, thus, must display flexibility and let it be just an advisory with no
punitive action attached.
COP27 summit in Egypt - world needs to implement
a ‘now or never’ plan
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has hit
the nail on the head: ‘We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the
accelerator.’ During his speech at the COP27 summit in Egypt, he has warned
that the uncontrolled rise in greenhouse gas emissions and global temperatures
will make climate chaos irreversible. Cooperate or perish – that’s his simple
message to humanity.
A key reason for the sorry state of affairs
is the rich countries’ reluctance to expedite the transition from fossil fuels
and give adequate funds to poorer nations to tackle climate change.
Underprivileged countries, mostly from the African continent where the summit
is being held, have repeatedly sought compensation from rich nations for losses
caused by climate-induced disasters such as floods, storms, heat waves and wildfires.
Amid the persistent gloom, the newly unveiled
Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All offers a ray of hope. The
plan, prepared by the World Meteorological Organisation and its partners, calls
for new targeted investments of $3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027. Its purpose
is to facilitate climate adaptation and resilience by offering services related
to disaster risk knowledge, forecasting and communication of early warnings
anywhere on the planet. Timely alerts are expected to help underprepared
nations get their act together and minimise the damage likely to be caused by
extreme weather events.
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