Promoting social cohesion: the role of community media - amarc

iii) Universities, deemed universitiesand other educational institutionsshall be permitted to locatetheir transmitters and antennaeonly within their main campuses.iv) For NGOs and others, thetransmitter and antenna shall belocated within the geographical areaof the community they seek toserve. The geographical area(including the names of villages/institution, etc.) should be clearlyspelt out along with the location ofthe transmitter and antenna in theapplication form.8. Funding & sustenancei) Applicants will be eligible toseek funding from multilateral aidagencies. Applicants seeking foreignfunds for setting up the CRS willhave to obtain FCRA clearance underForeign Contribution RegulationAct, 1976.ii) Transmission of sponsoredprogrammes shall not be permittedexcept programmes sponsored bycentral & state governments andother organisations to broadcastpublic interest information. In addition,limited advertising andannouncements relating to localevents, local businesses and servicesand employment opportunities shallbe allowed. The maximum durationof such limited advertising will berestricted to 5 (five) minutes perhour of broadcast.iii) Revenue generated fromadvertisement and announcementsas per paragraph 8 (ii) shall be utilisedonly for the operationalexpenses and capital expenditure ofthe CRS. After meeting the fullfinancial needs of the CRS, surplusmay, with prior written permissionof the Ministry of Information &Broadcasting, be ploughed into theprimary activity of the organisation,i.e. for education in the case ofeducational institutions and for furtheringthe primary objectives forwhich the NGO concerned wasestablished.9. Other terms & conditionsi) The basic objective of the communityradio broadcasting would beto serve the cause of the communityin the service area of the permissionholder by involving members of thecommunity in the broadcast of theirprogrammes. For this purpose,“community” shall mean peopleliving in the zone of the coverage ofthe broadcasting service of the permissionholder. Each applicant willhave to specify the geographicalcommunity or the community ofinterest it wants to cover.The permission holder shall providethe services of his CRS on a freeto-airbasis.ii) Though the permission holderwill operate the service under theseguidelines and as per the terms andconditions of the grant of permissionagreement signed, the permissionshall be subject to the conditionthat as and when any regulatoryauthority to regulate and monitorthe broadcast services in the countryis constituted, the permission holderwill adhere to the norms, rules andregulations prescribed by suchauthority from time to time.iii) The permission holder shallprovide such information to thegovernment on such intervals, asmay be required. In this connection,the permission holder is required topreserve recording of programmesbroadcast during the previous threemonths, failing which, permissionagreement is liable to be revoked.iv) The government or its authorisedrepresentative shall have theright to inspect the broadcast facilitiesof the permission holder andcollect such information as considerednecessary in public and communityinterest.v) The government reserves theright to take over the entire servicesand networks of the permissionholder or revoke/terminate/suspendthe permission in the interest ofnational security or in the event ofnational emergency/war or lowintensityconflict or under similartype of situations.vi) All foreign personnel likely tobe deployed by way of appointment,contract, consultancy, etc. by thepermission holder for installation,maintenance and operation of thepermission holder’s services shall berequired to obtain prior securityclearance from Government ofIndia.vii) The government reserves theright to modify, at any time, theterms and conditions if it is necessaryto do so, in public interest orfor the proper conduct of broadcastingor for security considerations.viii) Notwithstanding anythingcontained anywhere else in thegrant of permission agreement, thegovernment shall have the power todirect the permission holder tobroadcast any special message asmay be considered desirable to meetany contingency arising out of naturalemergency, or public interest ornatural disaster and the like, and thepermission holder shall be obliged tocomply with such directions.ix) The permission holder shall berequired to submit their auditedannual accounts to the governmentin respect of the organisation/divisionrunning the CRS. The accountsshall clearly show the income andexpenditure incurred and the assetsand liabilities in respect of the CRS.x) A permission agreement will besubject to such other conditions asmay be determined by the government.xi) The government shall makespecial arrangements for monitoringand enforcement of the ceilingon advertisements, particularly inthose areas where private FM radiostations have been granted licences.44 Promoting social cohesion: the role of community media