Media ownership for personal interest will not be allowed: Soni

New Delhi, May 25: Taking note of the mushrooming TV channels, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni today said steps would have to be taken to eliminate the practice of misusing media ownership for personal gain.

Such incidents had been brought to her notice and she had sought the opinion of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the matter, said Ms Soni, in an interview to Doordarshan on the first anniversary of the assumption of charge by the UPA-II to be telecast tonight.

The Minister's remark came responding to a question about the trend of people with no concern with media stepping into the broadcast sector to use their ownership power to further their personal interest.

She has suggested that the Ministry could take up the evaluation of such proposals from the point of view of previous media experience, and the capability to run a media organization.

Replying to another question, Ms Soni categorically said her government would not unilaterally impose any content code on TV channels.

''The UPA government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh stood for a liberal and broad-minded approach,'' Ms Soni said.

The Minister, however, stressed that her Ministry was sensitive to the demands of the common man for wholesome family entertainment, but said it would try to achieve consensus over the content code.

The Ministry had set up a task force for wide-ranging consultations to evolve a participative and consensus-based approach on the issue, she said.

The Minister called for greater transparency in the system of measurement of Television Viewership Ratings.

The Ministry has set up a committee of eminent industry professionals to examine the existing system of Television Rating Points (TRP), and recommend changes to make it more broad-based and representative, Ms Soni said.

This, she added, would also enable editors of media organizations to tailor their content to best serve the needs of the people.

Stating that the Prime Minister was personally concerned over reports of poor reception of Doordarshan and All India Radio in some border areas, the Minister said she had suggested that retired police personnel and retired engineers from the Army's Engineering Corps could be deployed to maintain transmitters in sensitive border areas.

She said she was committed to implementing this proposal at the earliest.

Referring to a recent Cabinet decision allocating over Rs 1500 crore for digitalization of Doordarshan and All India Radio transmission, she said this would enable 8 to 10 channels of Doordarshan to be viewed even in the remote areas of the country.

Stating that Doordarshan and All India Radio possess rare archives, which were a part of the priceless heritage of the country, the minister said the I and B Ministry had sent a Rs 660 crore proposal to the Planning Commission to set up an Archive Heritage Commission.

Answering a wide range of questions, the Minister said the Right to Education Act and the Women's Reservation Bill were a major achievements of the UPA government over the past one year.

She said it was social sector programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the National Rural Health Mission which enabled the UPA to return to power at the Centre in 2009.