Television channels airing objectionable contents have been “forced to go off-air for 25 times for three to five days” as a punitive action in the last three years.
Stating this in lok Sabha, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday said the Government was taking complaints on objectionable contents in TV programmes.
The Minister was responding when a C Malviya (BJP) referred to ‘Reality shows’ like Big Boss, Roadies and ‘khataro ke khiladi’ some time offering vulgar contents. The MP asked whether the Government was taking any action against shows with objectionable programmes.
Replying to the query during question hour, the Minister said around 600 private TV channels are monitored round-the- clock by the Government-run Electronic Monitoring Centre to review their content in the context of violations of programme and advertising codes.
In last three years, around 450 complaints have been received by the Government against the channels for airing objectionable contents, out of which action have been taken on 300 complaints, he said.
As per the action, a number of channels were forced to go off-air for 25 times, he said adding the channel cannot air any content for three to five days during this period.
Rathore said an inter-ministerial committee was set up by the Ministry to look into specific complaints or take suo motu cognisance of the violations of programme and advertising codes, and added that appropriate action is taken as per Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.
The Programme Codes provide, among other things, that no programme should be carried which offends against good taste or decency, contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths and denigrades women through depiction in any manner.