MxMIndia

Tag: Uday Kumar Varma

  • The former MIB secretary Varma presided over the effecting of the first two phases of digitization

    Mediaah! Report Card on Uday Kumar Varma’s tenure as I&B Secretary: 7/10

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Uday Kumar Varma

    In October 2011, when Uday Kumar Varma had just been appointed Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting ministry there was much hope from the ace bureaucrat. He didn’t just have sound experience in the administration, but he also had spent a good time in the MIB.

     

    So he would be plug-and-play given the little time he would need to learn the nuances of the ministry.

     

    However, it’s one thing to be Special Secretary and another to be ‘the’ Secretary, especially when you know your stint is going to last two-odd years and you will be retiring after the tenure.

     

    MxMIndia had carried an article as a part of the Anchor with the headline: 5 Things the New I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma must do (see link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2011/10/the-anchor-5-things-new-ib-secretary-uday-kumar-varma-must-do/).

     

    There was a five-point tasklist. Here are the headlines:

    #1 Ensure new digitization announcement is implemented on time.

    #2 Must let self-regulators rule.

    #3 Should ensure paid contentwallahs are punished.

    #4 Push for news on FM Radio.

    #5 Empower government media – Doordarshan and All India Radio.

     

    I am not going to factor in #2, 3 and 5 here, because in a two-year stint there’s not much that you can expect any Secretary to achieve.

     

    Phase 3 of the FM radio regime has still not taken off and one can’t see independent news happening in a hurry on FM radio. It requires someone who believes in the medim to push these through with missionary zeal in what’s clearly a non-priority sector.

     

    Varmaji made the regular noise on self-regulation, measurement and paid content, the kind one expects from a Secretary.

     

    But it’s with digitization that the former Secretary has received the maximum bouquets and brickbats. At the outset, he deserves all the credit for digitization finally seeing the light of day. When the minister changed less than a week before first phase was scheduled to happen,  it was Shri Varma and his team’s conviction that ensured it takes place.

     

    But what happened before Phase 1 of digitization was effected was deplorable. The readiness numbers that the ministry declared were in sharp variance with the ground reality.

     

    It was Varma & Co’s resolve and understanding that the hiccups are inevitable is what led to the digitization been effected. Phase 2 was also pushed through, with its own share of problems, but by then the Secretary knew that it’s not switch-off-switch-on game. Every phase will have its own sub-phases.

     

    Had it been just the effecting of digitization, Varma would’ve got an 11 on 10, but the fact that the initial process had its share of big problems and that one had huge expectations from him given his knowledge of the functioning of the ministry, we give him a score of 7/10.

     

  • At the recent conference, Battle of the Story, organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, media veterans talked about freedom vs responsibility of media, new technology and the way forward

    Battle of the Story: Casting critical eye on Media

    By Ananya Saha

     

    The media is playing more important role in our society today. As social and traditional media continue to permeate our lives, industry veterans recently got together at a conference organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce to discuss the role of media, convergence, new media, and new technology. As Rajiv Mundhra, President, ICC, pointed out, “New media has become a tool for social change.”

     

    The panel comprising of Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati; Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEE and Essel Group; Sunil Lulla, MD and CEO, Times Television Network; Anuradha Prasad, Chairperson, BAG Films and Media Ltd; Anshuman Tewari, Chief of National Bureau, Dainik Jagran talked about how media only portrays reality as shaped by people. While agreeing that in the “heat-of-the-moment”, the news channels do forget their responsibility towards the nation and compromise national security such as the 26/11, according to Mr Chandra, the Indian media has acted responsibly. He further said, “There are people who are history-sheeters and are running news channels. This is a cause of concern.

     

    Sunil Lulla

    Concurring, Mr Lulla said, “With the mushrooming of news channels, it was the broadcasters themselves who got together to say that we need to set standards. Since that idea got criticized by journalists, we asked the journalists to form the guidelines under the committee headed by Late Justice Verma. NBSA was thus formed. And with the passing years, the guidebook is only getting thicker.” He further said, “We are all for responsible content. For instance, no other business carries 72 messages in a day giving information of redressal authorities.” The panel coherently agreed that they were united in the cause of bringing responsible content to its audience.

     

    Mr Sircar said, “It is important that the media takes note of what it is doing. If the fourth estate caves in, we will see an eruption of public angst, which will defy the constitution.”

     

    Uday Kumar Varma

    Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, MIB, talked about how technology is enabling advances in the broadcast sector. He spoke about the three challenges that the sector is facing, “Digitization is the best thing to happen to the broadcasting sector in the last 20 years. And the first challenge is that all digitization is aimed at, is achieved.” He said that till digitization sees complete transparency, issue of carriage fees is not solved, and till revenue sharing is equitable, the process of digitization cannot be called complete. The second challenge, according to him is the question of monopolies. He said, “There have been certain developments that have disturbed the equilibrium. Problems that arise because of lack of policy have to be addressed. Cross-media regulation, which can be horizontal or vertical, has to be addressed as well.”

     

    The third and the last challenge he shared was about the TV rating system. He said, “the current rating system is far from satisfactory. The bottomline features of a television rating system should be put in place.”

     

  • The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting convened a 'Twitter Conference' on community radio on Friday

    MIB convenes Twitter conf on Community Radio

    Some tweets at #ComRadio
    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    Secretary- Country like India needs 1000s of #ComRadio s. The process of setting up #ComRadio need to be stepped up.

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    Secretary- allowing All India Radio, AIR, news on #ComRadio can be considered if general consensus arise @airnewsalerts

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    Secretary- Ministry is in the process of settin up single window clearance, ll become reality soon. #ComRadio

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    Secretary- There could be no other better medium to protect, promote and preserve local culture than Community Radio #ComRadio

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    Sec- #ComRadio Movement is a collective effort. Government provides enabling environment whereas, ppl actually takin it forwad into reality

     

    • Sushil Raghav ‏@raghavsushil

    @MIB_India how many community radio operated till today? and how many will start in 2013. #ComRadio

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    @raghavsushil . 144 CRs operational . In 2013-14 mib expects more than 100 new Crs #ComRadio

     

    • SUMIT SINGH ‏@SiinghSahab

    @mib_india please tell me about career building in this field #comradio

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    @SiinghSahab. for one, can b CR jockey, act as a volunteer & even a managr.Offersg8 trainingopportuities for career in media #ComRadio.

     

    • MIB India ‏@MIB_India

    @SiinghSahab. on our website http://www.mib.nic.in

    Details

     

    • SUMIT SINGH ‏@SiinghSahab

    @mib_india what is the minimum education required and if there is age limits

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting convened its first ever Live Twitter Conference on the theme “Community Radio: Road Travelled & Way Forward” last Friday (February 8). The live conference was chaired by I&B Secretary Uday Kumar Varma who responded to the questions/queries. Senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.

     

    The Live Conference scheduled for half an hour went on for over an hour and more than 200 questions were received on different aspects of the community radio programme. Mr Varma responded to 45-odd questions. The questions related to spectrum fee waiver, licensing, sustainability of the Community Radio Model and career prospects.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr Varma said that the ministry would continue to do such exercises on other issues in the near future.

     

  • The I&B ministry ought to have known that the June 30 sunset date for the four metros was unachievable, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah! Why Ambika Soni is to blame for the delay in digitization

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    I have been a huge fan of the current information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni. After the likes of Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Anand Sharma, Madame Soni’s tenure came as a breath of fresh air. And a much-needed one, because she didn’t make life miserable for the broadcasters like her predecessors did (and I am told wanted her to).

     

    The I&B minister’s job is a thankless one. Several hundred Parliamentarians and politicians, consumer groups, corporates, lobbies and alert citizens writing to her with comments and requests, and most of which cannot be ignored.  If Colors didn’t face any problems with Balika Vadhu or Star Plus didn’t have to pull out Sach Ka Saamna, it’s thanks to the minister warding off various pressures.

     

    I think just keeping all these complainants at bay and letting the various players do their job is an achievement. She has also gently ensured that news and non-news broadcasters adopt a stringent (and effective) self-regulatory mechanism.

     

    So what’s the problem? Well, part of it is thanks to successive I&B secretaries having short tenures. Uday Kumar Varma, the incumbent, also has a two-year stint prior to retirement or an extension. Mr Varma has the advantage of having worked with MIB in the past at senior positions so he didn’t spend a few months understanding the nuances of the job as a few of his predecessors may have had to.

     

    Over the last few months, several industry captains and observers have told me that the ministry is inefficient which I have vociferously countered by saying Ms Soni’s achievements need to be counted by her proactive opposition to regressive forces. At least one CEO even told that me that I was too pro-MIB. Perhaps, but that’s because she’s not regressive.

     

    However, the fact is that the ministry lacks the initiative to deliver on bold measures. Nothing happened with Doordarshan even as much was promised when it celebrated its golden jubilee in 2009. The radio sector is still floundering: there is still no news on radio even as television stations even in the most sensitive of zones in the country are allowed to air news. The minister wasn’t able to stand up to her colleague in the food and consumer affairs department on ad regulation and more recently it’s made a mess of the entire digitization process.

     

    The Minister and her secretariat were aware of the requirements of the process, so even before accepting the TRAI regulations, they ought to have looked at whether the Sunset Date of June 30 was achievable. It wasn’t as most stakeholders told us.

     

    Even now, as a few of the people familiar with the situation on the ground have told me that October 31 is going to be a tough ask.

     

    It’s critical that the government monitors the execution carefully and ensures that there is no room for any further delays. Care must also be taken to ensure that the respective state governments and municipal corporations are taken into confidence… especially in Chennai and Kolkata.

     

    As to those who raise the bogey that digitization puts television out of the reach of the lowest common denominator, the answer is that they can always access terrestrial transmission. Quality software must be paid for.

     

    Meanwhile, all is not lost for the Honourable Minister. She must get aggressive on digitization and various other pending issues in her ministry. Or let history remember her as one more ineffective I&B ministers that India has had.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.  The views expressed here are my own.

     

  • The taskforce convened by I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma failed to announce whether the June 30 digitization is going to be delayed as has been demanded by many stakeholders.

    I&B pussyfoots on digitization. Decision on deadline to be announced this week

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sad. MxMIndia learns that yet again no decision on the deadline on digitization was taken at the taskforce meeting that took place this afternoon in the Capital. Mr Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting chaired the meeting and Ms Supriya Sahu, Joint Secy (Broadband & Policy) was also in attendance.

     

    It may be noted that June 30 is just 15 days away, and it’s unfortunate that the Government of India appears clueless on whether digitization in the four metros should be imposed or not. The charade thus continues. DTH operators have been advertising that cable is going to be history in the four metros, local cable operators are protesting and broadcasters are wondering whether they should factor in digitization in their forward planning.

     

    A routine meeting with discussions on issues and state of preparedness for digitization took place between the taskforce members and ministry officials. While no new announcements were made on the matter, news agency PTI reports that Mr Varma said that a frank discussion took place on all issues concerning digitization and the government had taken note of all stakeholders’ views on the matter. Mr Varma said that the ministry had more clarity now on the state of readiness of various stakeholders. PTI also reports that the government is likely to declare its final position on the matter by next week.

     

    In a meeting held on June 8 between Ms Ambika Soni, Minister, Information and Broadcasting and industry stakeholders, the government hinted at a comprehensive discussion on timelines in the scheduled June 15 taskforce meet. The ministry also collected duly filled forms from all stakeholders present in the June 8 meeting to study and assess the preparedness for digitization for Phase I. While the ministry has maintained so far that there will be no extension of the notified sunset date of June 30, it was suggested in the meeting held on June 8, that any discussion or decision would be deferred till the next taskforce meeting on June 15.

     

    A member of the taskforce told MxM India after the meeting today that no decision or announcement was made during the meeting by the government and that the ministry is likely to announce its decision later next week. Another member of the taskforce however hinted that discussion on new timelines led to suggestions of a possible extension upto December 31.

     

    Shortly after the taskforce meeting the Local Cable Operators (LCOs) protested outside Shastri Bhawan demanding that the ministry revisit the matter of revenue share of LCOs. Speaking to MxM India, a local cable operator based in East Delhi said, “We are protesting against Rs 45 share for LCOs. Also there is no clarity on STB price by the government so every MSO is offering it at a different price. And the quality of STBs is also very bad so we are facing a problem with the same.”

     

    Meanwhile, the hearing of the Mumbai Cable Operator V/S I and B Ministry case which was scheduled today, June 15, has been postponed till Monday, June 18.

     

  • Tasksheet for new Info and Broadcasting Secretary, Uday Kumar Varma

    The Anchor: 5 things new I&B secretary Uday Kumar Varma must do

    Pradyuman MaheshwariBy Pradyuman Maheshwari

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting finally has a full-time secretary. Like his predecssors Raghu Menon and Sushma Singh, guess Uday Kumar Varma will also be in office for around a couple of years before retirement. But he has had three stints with the ministry and from my little interaction with him, I can assure you that we have in the current secretary a man who knows the ministry inside-out.

    There’s a lot that a Secretary can achieve, if he or she has the will to do so. But of course there could be sensitivities in I&B, and if the eye is on what’s in store post-superannuation, then you can be sure that an I&B secretary will achieve precious little.

    Both Menon and Singh couldn’t or didn’t do much as Secretary. One hopes that Varmaji will do a lot more than his predecessors.

    Here’s a five-point tasklist.

    #1 Ensure new digitisation announcement is implemented on time.

    The sunset date is rather ambitious, but now that the collective wisdom of the bosses in Delhi have put out a policy, it’s the I&B Ministry’s responsibility to ensure it happens well-before time. Don’t get bullied by the lobbies

    #2 Must let self-regulators rule.

    The broadcastwallahs are still reeling under the scare of the government policy of not renewing channels if they fool around with the content and advertising code. Various media segments like news and non-news channels and creative agencies already have self-regulation in place. The print media too needs a regulator. While a nudge to these self-regulators may be needed to expedite decisions on erring content, but clearly there’s no place for government in policing the world.

    #3 Should ensure paid contentwallahs are punished.

    The elections are round the corner and it’s heartening to see the Election Commission get into action. But it’s the I&B ministry that must ensure that all those who indulge in paid content should be stripped off their RNI titles, government concessions and DAVP ads.

    #4 Push for news on FM Radio.

    There is no clear reason why there’s no news on FM Radio. The I&B minister once told me that there is a home ministry objection to news on FM, especially in the border districts. It’s one of the most bizarre reasons given especially since there are thousands of cable channels which abound across the country.

    #5 Empower government media — Doordarshan and All India Radio.

    Doordarshan’s 50-years celebrations are over and there was plenty of airtime and newsprint spent on what could be done to the two government media. Nothing happened. And nothing will. Unless Varmaji wakes up, empowers the staff and ensures quality content happens on both DD and AIR…

     

    This list of ‘must-do’s for Secretary Varma could be endless, but if he manages to take care of the five listed above,  he will forever be remembered as a secy who made a difference.