In 2019, the ministry received 101 complaints against TV channels, the highest in the last five years, while in 2020, it received only seven complaints, the lowest in the last five years.
The number of complaints increased to 66 in 2023, from 52 in 2022 and 43 in 2021.
Clause 25 of the Policy Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite TV Channels in India, 2022, mandates that broadcasters who breach these guidelines will face penal actions.
In response to another question, the minister revealed that the ministry has received 156 applications for TV channel licences over the past five years.
Out of the 156 applications for new TV channel licences across news and non-news categories, 117 applications were approved, 20 were closed, and 19 are pending due to insolvency and trademark issues.Responding to another question, Dr. Murugan said that the MIB has granted permission to 57 news channels and cancelled licences of 18 news channels in the last five years.Further, the transmission of three channels was suspended for a specific period.
The MIB granted permissions to 14 channels each in 2019, 2022, and 2023. In 2020 and 2021, permissions were granted to six and nine TV channels.
Quoting Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data, the minister also said that the cable TV subscribers in India have decreased from 103 million in 2020 to 64 million in 2023, partly due to the rise of OTT platforms.
