Cabinet to discuss proposal to allow uplinking of foreign channels

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet is likely to discuss on Monday the proposal to allow foreign news channels to uplink from India and demerger of loss-making Tea Trading Corporation from its parent company State Trading Company.
The totally foreign-owned STAR TV proposal of uplinking from Indian soil for a 24-hours news channel has been pending before the government and is among the issues that may come up in the meeting, sources said.
The Government''s decision on the proposal, the first of its kind, could have significant repercussions on private news channels with foreign equity.
News channels uplinking from India would have to adhere to the foreign-equity cap stipulated by the government in case it decides on changes in the present policy on uplinking, sources said.
Similar requests have been made by BBC and CNBC after Star TV, which will end its contract with NDTV this month end.
Besides this, the Cabinet is also likely to deliberate on the issue of delinking the loss making Tea Trading Corporation (TTCL) from its parent State Trading Corporation, they said.
Commerce Ministry, the parent ministry responsible for STC had mooted a proposal to separate TTCL from STC by transferring the same to Project Engineering Corporation (PEC) another PSU under the same ministry.