India broadcast body proposes investment cap review

MUMBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - India's broadcast regulator has proposed raising some foreign investment limits, saying current policy was not uniform and needed to be reviewed because of the convergence of broadcast and communication technologies.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which also oversees broadcast, recommended in a policy note the foreign investment limit in FM news radio be raised to 26 percent from 20 percent, and in non-news to 49 percent from 20 percent.

It suggested that the limit on direct-to-home satellite TV be raised to 74 percent from 49 percent, and proposed a limit of 74 percent for satellite radio and for Headend in the Sky.

The foreign investment limit in cable TV should be maintained at 49 percent, and at 26 percent for news broadcasters, it said. It called for responses to the recommendations by March 28.

"It is important to have a well-thought-out policy so as to maximise the positive effects of foreign investment while ensuring that the negative effects are minimised," it said.

"Such a policy is more important for broadcasting and cable services, which is regulated in some form or other in many countries from a national interest consideration," it said in the note on its Web site (www.trai.gov.in).

A uniform policy would ensure a level playing field for new convergent technologies and for "overall efficiency and competitiveness", the note said.

India is the world's third-largest cable TV market, and is set to become Asia's leading cable market by 2010 and the most lucrative pay TV market by 2015. (Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by John Mair)