New Delhi: The West Bengal government's decision to take over two channels owned by scam-tainted Saradha Group which were facing closure may hit the roadblock as present guidelines do not allow state governments to run TV channels. "At present no proposal has come to us from the state government but as per the present set of guidelines state governments are not allowed to run television channels," a senior Information & Broadcasting Ministry official said.
"States are not companies which be running channels. As per the rules to be into broadcasting, the entity in question has to be registered as a company," the official added. The official also said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had earlier in their recommendations strongly held that governments should not be allowed to enter into broadcasting.
The ministry has in the past rejected proposals from at least three state governments - Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat - related to entry into broadcasting and distribution activities. Earlier on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced her government's decision to take over the two channels - Tara News and Tara Muzic - following an appeal by their employees seeking government intervention.
She said that 168 employees of the channels would get an ex-gratia of Rs 16,000 each from this month and the state government would provide Rs 26 lakh from the chief minister's relief fund on humanitarian grounds to run the channels. However, it would not take the liability of
08:43 PM, May 24, 2013
Kolkata: The Left Front on Thursday asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to respond to allegations by a senior West Bengal IPS officer about "corrupt practices" when she was the railway minister. "Serious allegations of corruption have been levelled by a senior and respected IPS officer from the state. We don't to want question her (Banerjee) integrity. But to keep that image intact the chief minister must come out with an...
04:26 AM, May 24, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal government has acquired two television channels - Tara Muzik and Tara News - which were previously owned by the Saradha Group. The two channels had to be shut down following the Saradha chit-fund crisis. Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters at Writers' Buildings that the decision was taken following appeal by employees of Tara News and Tara Muzic channels for government intervention. The...
05:11 PM, May 23, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Tuesday that the government would ban online lottery "Online lotto". The necessary notification regarding the issue will be issued soon, she said. Describing "Online Lotto" as a social problem, she said it led to fights between family members. "Online Lotto was started during the Left Front rule. It has ceased now. But today I am officially announcing a ban on such...
07:47 AM, May 22, 2013
Kolkata: To ensure added importance to tribals in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a separate department of tribal affairs, which would be under her. "Tribal people have many grievances, but they don't know where to lodge complaints to draw attention immediately. Therefore, a separate tribal affairs department will be created just like the minority affairs department and it will remain under me," Banerjee told...
02:49 AM, May 22, 2013
New Delhi: As Congress-led United Progressive Alliance completes four years in office on May 22, what is the mood in urban India? In a 12-city poll conducted by CNN-IBN in age group of 18 years or more, the verdict is emphatic and overwhelmingly against the current regime. The poll reveals that UPA government has lost credibility and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh no longer enjoys confidence of urban India. An overwhelming...
08:05 PM, May 21, 2013
Bundi: Organisations across the country running shelter homes for girls will soon be subjected to tight monitoring to ensure that no crime or abuse is committed at such facilities, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has said. NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma told reporters that she will write to the directors general of police of all states and other officials concerned to "initiate an inquiry into the functioning of shelter homes...
07:42 PM, May 21, 2013
Kolkata: After two years of rule, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appears to have squandered the overwhelming mandate voters gave her, but as West Bengal gears up for panchayat polls, it seems that the TMC has the advantage as the Left is yet to regroup. Rattled by the Saradha meltdown and a spate of suicides, Trinamool faces the uphill task of addressing cries of lakhs of anguished investors and agents. With...
07:59 AM, May 20, 2013
Kolkata: With the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal coming up with a draft textile policy to attract investment to revive the sector, leading industry lobbies have expressed hope that the policy roadmap would help the industry to grow significantly. States like Maharashtra and Gujarat unveiled their new textile policies in 2012 to woo investors. "A policy was necessary. It will surely help Bengal's textile sector grow rapidly. The roadmap...
04:54 AM, May 20, 2013
Burdwan: West Bengal Agriculture Minister Malay Ghatak on Saturday said he has received a letter threatening to kill him and his family unless he resigned from the Cabinet and quit Trinamool Congress. "I saw the letter this evening. It was sent by post from Kharagpur in West Midnapore district on May 13 by N Rama Rao of Indian People's Liberation Army," Ghatak told reporters. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the...
07:59 AM, May 19, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal chit fund scam accused Sudipta Sen and Arvind Chauhan have been remanded to judicial custody till May 22. The court has reserved order on the third accused Debjani Mukherjee as she is in hospital. Mukherjee was admitted after complaining of stomach ailment. Meanwhile, Congress workers protested in Kolkata against TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who is alleged to have links in the case. On Friday, the manager and...
04:23 PM, May 18, 2013
Kolkata: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Friday said the recent visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Darjeeling has removed the "miscommunication" between the West Bengal government and the party. GJM leader Harka Bahadur Chhetri said, "There was a miscommunication with the the state...the problem is over now with her (Mamata) recent visit to the Darjeeling hills for development work for the people there." Blaming a section of the people...
12:51 AM, May 18, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal Election Commission on Friday announced dates for the Panchayat elections in the state. The elections will be held in three phases on July 2, 6 and 10. The results will be announced three days later. The state government's demand for a two-phase polling was earlier shot down by the Calcutta High Court. The state election commission though said that the court order was not clear on...
04:55 PM, May 17, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal government achieved 7.6 per cent growth in GDP compared to the national average of 4.96 per cent during the last financial year. In industry, the growth rate was 6.24 per cent against the national average of 3.12 per cent, Finance Minister Amit Mitra claimed while releasing three books on the completion of two years rule of Mamata Banerjee-led government on Thursday. In agriculture, the state recorded...
01:29 AM, May 17, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee led government on Thursday released a performance report, claiming the state has clocked a growth rate higher than that of the overall country during the nearly two years it has been in power. The performance report showcasing the achievements of the state government was released at the state secretariat, four days before the regime completes two years in office. Making public the report titled "Powering...
11:35 PM, May 16, 2013
Kolkata: There were differences at a meeting on Thursday between the State Election Commission (SEC) and the West Bengal government over fixing dates for the three-tier panchayat elections after the Calcutta High Court's direction that the two mutually agree on it. "We suggested certain dates and they (state government) also placed some dates for the panchayat election to be held in three phases as per the High Court order," State...
06:10 PM, May 16, 2013
Kolkata: Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen, who has been accused of cheating lakhs of investors of their money running into thousands of crores, on Wednesday opposed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the complaints against him and his companies in an affidavit filed before the Calcutta High Court. He claimed before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi that the Special Investigation Team...
10:20 AM, May 16, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Unhappy over the probe by Crime Branch of state police into the mysterious death of a lady doctor in Puri in 2012, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday suggested Odisha government to recommend a CBI probe into the matter. "We do not feel the state police is undertaking investigation into the death case involving a lady doctor in right way. Therefore, we suggest Odisha government to recommend...
01:46 AM, May 16, 2013
Kolkata: A day after the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government and the State Election Commission to mutually decide on dates for the panchayat election, a move has been initiated by both to hold a meeting on Thursday. The meeting will take place amidst a deadline set by the High Court to complete the poll process by July 15. SEC secretary Tapas Roy told reporters that the meeting...
05:56 PM, May 15, 2013
Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Tuesday hailed the Calcutta High Court order on panchayat elections as "historic." "This is a historic order of the hon'ble High Court and we are very happy," state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the State Election Commission (SEC) order for 800 companies of central forces to man the panchayat polls, and directed that...
03:46 PM, May 14, 2013
