Lok Sabha Question No. 781 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: FDI in DTH Sector
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, Su Thirunavukkarasar, Y. S. Avinash Reddy, Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 781 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021)

## FDI in DTH Sector.

781. SHRI KOMATI REDDY VENKAT REDDY: SHRI THIRUNAVUKKARASAR SU: SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY: SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

## Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a)  Whether  the  Government  has  recently  taken  some  significant  decisions regarding  direct-to-home  (DTH)  services  including  allowing  100  percent foreign direct investment therin and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  details  of  benefits  likely  to  accrue  to  the  DTH  sector  especially  the smaller cable operators, due to these proposed changes;
- (c) whether the DTH operators have also been facing a challenge from high bandwidth  Internet  and  new  generation  entertainment  providers  using  Over The Top (OTT) channels that are chipping away at their urban viewer base which is valuable to advertisers and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  for  helping  the  indigenous companies by extending capital subsidy and technology upgradation scheme to  play  at  par  with  foreign  companies  in  DTH  busines  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (e) other measures being taken by the Government to improve the quality of DTH services to the people of the country?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE; MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING; AND MINISTER OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) Government of India has, on 30.12.2020, notified some amendments to the guidelines for  providing  Direct  to  Home  (DTH) services  in  India.  As  per  the  revised  guidelines,  Foreign  Direct Investment (FDI) for DTH  Sector has been aligned with the Department  for  Promotion  of  Industry  and  Internal  Trade  (DPIIT's) FDI Policy, as notified from time to time. As per extant FDI policy, 100%  FDI  is  allowed  in  DTH  Sector  through  automatic  route. However,  Infusion  of  fresh  foreign  investment,  beyond  49%  in  a company  not  seeking  license/permission  from  sectoral  Ministry, resulting in change in the ownership pattern or transfer of stake by existing  investor  to  new  foreign  investor,  will  require  Government approval.
- (b) It  is  expected  that  the  revision  of  DTH  guidelines  will  infuse fresh  FDI  thereby  boosting  growth  of  the  DTH  sector.  It  is  also expected to take the DTH services to remote areas and increase its subscriber base, thus promoting access to digital TV channels for a larger population.
- (c) No specific instances in this regard has been brought to the notice  of  this  Ministry.  Further,  the  DTH  Sector  has  also  been growing in the period.  The  active  DTH  subscriber  base  has grown

from  69.98  Million  subscribers  in  December  2019  to  70.70  Million subscribers in September 2020.

(d) Though  the  provisions  of  capital  subsidy  and  technology upgradation are not planned as such, the amended guidelines will usher  in  ease  of  doing  business  with  steps  like  aligning  FDI  with current  policy,  sharing  of  infrastructure,  rationalization  of  license fee, staggered license fee payments etc.

(e) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has notified the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Standards of Quality  of  Service  (QoS)  and  Consumer  Protection  (Addressable Systems)  Regulations,  2017  on  03.12.2017.  The  QoS  framework empowers consumers to transparently view the channel prices on Electronic  Programmable  Guide  (EPG)  which  contains  information about activation of channels, cost, ownership, maintenance provisions etc.

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