GoM to meet Jan 19 to decide auction for FM-III: Soni
By IANSThursday, January 13, 2011
NEW DELHI - A Group of Ministers (GoM) will meet Jan 19 to decide on the form of auctioning for FM phase III radio, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said here Thursday.
“The GoM would meet on Jan 19. The meeting which was supposed to be held in December last year was cancelled due to the unavailability of the members of the GoM,” Soni told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
The GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would discuss on whether to opt for the conventional open auction or clock auction model with e-assistance for the next round of FM radio stations.
Soni was speaking after presenting the Vivekananda National Awards to eminent personalities, including sarod maestro ustad Amjad Ali Khan and actor Vidya Balan here.
The FM-III policy is expected to bring in around 800 new radio stations in small and middling towns, with special focus on border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast that is aimed at checking cross-border propaganda.
The FM-III policy allows radio broadcasters to air news and current affairs sourced from the All India Radio.
Around 160 FM stations across 60 towns are expected to be initially auctioned in the first phase this year.
