BHUBANESWAR : Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi here on Friday sought to give special attention so that FM radio-network in Orissa gets strengthened.

"First I am planning to strengthen FM Rainbow, which is within the purview of Prasar Bharati," Mr. Dasmunshi said. The I&B Minister held a meeting of officers placed in the State under his ministry here. He said the radio and television network would also be strengthened so that listeners and viewers in rural pockets could get better access to different programmes.

Mr. Dasmunshi also assured that Direct-To-Home connections would be made available in non-metro cities such as Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and Bhopal during phase II implementation of Conditional Access System. He said the ministry's first priority would be to increase DTH network in metro centres.

New bill

The Minister said the Government was making attempts to table the new broadcasting bill in the forthcoming monsoon session.

"We have taken a cautious approach in connection with the bill. We have interacted with all the stakeholders including print and electronic media. The draft report is almost ready. There will be another final round of consultation before we table the bill in Parliament," Mr. Dasmunshi said.

Terming the bill as `media friendly', he claimed, "No democratic country such as United Kingdom or United States has such a liberal media legislation.

There will not be any remote control with the Government. The dispute over regulation matter will be solved by media organisations themselves."

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