New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal to amend the guidelines for obtaining a license to provide Direct to Home (DTH) services in India. The salient features of this decision are as follows: License for DTH will be issued for a period of 20 years from the present 10 years. The license fee has been revised from 10 percent of GR to 8 percent of AGR. AGR will be calculated by subtracting GST from GR.
III. The license fee will now be collected on a quarterly basis, instead of an annual basis.
IV. DTH operators will be allowed to operate up to a maximum of 5 percent of the total permitted platform channels shown by them. A non-refundable registration fee of Rs 10,000 per PS channel will be charged from a DTH operator.
DTH operators wishing to share infrastructure between DTH operators on a voluntary basis will be allowed to share the DTH platform and the transport stream of TV channels. Distributors of TV channels will be allowed to share the same hardware for their subscriber management system (SMS) and conditional access system (CAS) applications.
VI. The 49 percent FDI limit in the current DTH guidelines will be aligned with the government’s current (DPIIT) policy as per FDI amended from time to time.
The decision will be effective in accordance with the revised DTH guidelines and will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The proposed reduction is intended to make the license fee regime compatible with the telecom sector. This difference may enable DTH service providers to invest more in extended campaigns and consequently in regular payment of license fees. The registration fee for platform services is expected to generate revenue of around Rs 12 lakh. The sharing of infrastructure by DTH operators can reduce the fees incurred by customers by utilizing scarce satellite resources in an efficient and efficient manner. Adoption of the current FDI policy will bring additional foreign investment into the country.
DTH operates on an all-India basis. The DTH sector is a highly employable sector. It directly employs a large number of installers indirectly at the ground level in addition to employing DTH operators as well as personnel working in call centers. Clarity on long-term license period and renewal as well as revised DTH guidelines such as simple FDI limits will ensure fair conditions of stability and employment opportunities in addition to new investments in the DTH sector.