After TRP scam, I&B Ministry constitutes committee to review Guidelines

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted a committee on November 4 to review “Guidelines on Television Rating Agencies in India” notified by the Ministry in 2014.

Recently a fake TRP racket unearthed in which three television channels - Republic TV, Box Cinema and Marathi channel Fakt Marathi - had allegedly manipulated TRPs to get better ratings.

The present guidelines issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on Television Rating Agencies in India were notified after detailed deliberations by the Parliamentary Committee, Committee on Television Rating Points (TRP) constituted by the MIB and recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority etc.

It has been found, based on the operation of the guidelines for a few years, that there is a need to have a fresh look at the guidelines particularly keeping in view the recent recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), technological advancements/interventions to address the system and further strengthening of the procedures for a credible and transparent rating system.

A committee has been hereby constituted to study different aspects of the television rating system in India as they have evolved over a period of time. The Committee shall carry out an appraisal of the existing system; examine TRAI recommendations notified from time to time, overall industry scenario and addressing the needs of the stakeholders and make recommendations for robust, transparent and accountable rating system through changes, if any, in the existing guidelines.

The composition of the Committee shall be as under:-

i) Shashi S. Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharti - Chairman
ii) Dr Shalabh, Professor of Statistics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, IIT Kanpur, -Member
iii) Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, Executive Director, C-DOT - Member
iv) Professor Pulak Ghosh, Decision Sciences Centre for Public Policy (CPP) - Member

The Terms of Reference for the Committee shall be as under:

Study past recommendations made by various forums on the subject of television rating systems in India and matter incidental thereto;
Study recent recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority on the subject;
Suggest steps for enhancing competition in the sector;
Review of the presently notified guidelines to see if the intended purpose(s) of issuing the guidelines have stood the test of time and has met the needs of various stakeholders involve The lacunae, if any, shall be specially addressed by the Committee;
Any issues related or incidental to the subject;
To make recommendations on way forward for a robust, transparent and accountable rating system in India;
and Any other related issues assigned by MIB from time to time.

The Committee can invite any expert as a special invitee. The Committee will submit its report to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting within two months.