MUMBAI: Media bodies are now waking up to condem on the draft of Broadcast Bill prepared by the information and broadcasting (I&B). After the Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF) has opposed the cross-media holding restrictions and the so-called Draconian clauses in the bill.

The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd has expressed its concerns about recent reports in the media that the government of India is planning to present a Broadcast Bill in the monsoon session of parliament.

In an according to an official release issued, the Guild feels that the proposals are retrograde in nature, restrictive and definitely regressive.

The Guild fears that if this bill is passed, anybody will have the right to complain to competent authorities and they will have the right to intervene. This will hamper the smooth functioning of media components and can lead to unnecessary government control of media. 

The Bill also talks of imposing restriction on cross-media holding which is against the spirit of free enterprise. Also, extremely important problems of Copyright Theft and Piracy which together threaten to cripple the industry have not been addressed at all in the bill.

The Guild which represents all major stakeholders in the Filmed Content space would like to play a more active role in this and should definitely be consulted before any such Bill is finalized/passed, informs the release.