June 2011 launch for India’s broadcast complaints council

Rebecca Hawkes | 08-05-2011

A long awaited broadcast body to better self-regulate the content all non-news TV channels in India is to be in place by 1 June.

The remit of the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) will be to regulate the 550 Indian general entertainment television, children’s television and special interest channels, to prevent the broadcast of vulgar or offensive content, and provide a mechanism of redress for public complaints.

The new body will comprise 13 members and be chaired by Justice AP Shah, former chief justice of Delhi High Court, according to the Hindustan Times. It will reportedly feature four members from the Indian Broadcasting Foundations, four members from national statutory commissions, and four “eminent civil society personalities”, according to Uday Shankar, president of the IBF. These include JNU’s Professor Anand Kumar and Nandini Sardesaj, says the newspaper.

“The chairperson and non-broadcaster members will have three year tenures, while broadcaster members will hold office for one year,” Uday Shankar, president of IBF told the Hindustan Times.

The IBF is now recommending that the new self-regulatory content guidelines replace the current Programme Code, under the Cable Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. “The notification of self-regulatory content code should be delinked from the broadcast bill, in the interest of all the stakeholders of the broadcasting sector, especially the viewer,” it said in a statement.

The guidelines now divide India’s broadcast content into two categories. ‘G’ stands for content suitable for unrestricted viewing or under parental guidance, while the second category, ‘R’ is for restricted content to be aired after 11pm and before 5am.

The move follows earlier concerns by the Indian Government and some viewers that reality shows such as Big Boss (the Indian version of Big Brother) contained material that was unsuitable for prime time viewing. There is, however, no formal watershed in India – although the government has retained the right to step in should the BCCC fail in its task.