Mumbai: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has assured the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology that it will present a draft note within 15 days outlining proposed changes to key media laws, according to sources familiar with the discussions. MIB officials gave this assurance to the committee, headed by Nishikant Dubey, during a meeting on Friday. The aim is to enhance the effectiveness of media laws under the ministry’s purview to address issues such as fake news, paid news, sensationalism in media, and issues concerning journalists, sources added.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed the implementation of various media-related laws, including the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act 2023, the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act 2023, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995, the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990, the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007, the Press Council Act 1978, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.
However, sources said there was no discussion on the Broadcast Bill, which was previously withdrawn due to opposition from the media industry.
