The USIBC has said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) should institutionalize the mechanism to grant permissions and approvals through a fully integrated online single window clearance system, which is time-bound.

“Presently the entire process takes long, and the timelines are also uncertain,” the US-India Business Council (USIBC) said in its submission to TRAI’s consultation paper on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in Telecom and Broadcasting sectors.

It has also expressed the hope that with the involvement of the industry in this process of simplification of regulations, the telecom and broadcast regulator TRAI would be able to make recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that are in consonance with the broader economic objectives of the Government of India, such as increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) attractiveness, promoting Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and realizing the vision of Digital India.

“EoDB is directly linked to creating efficiencies and predictability, building competitiveness, and ensuring speed of approvals required to provide service and introduction innovation,” it pointed out.

For example, the USIBC has submitted that broadcasters that already hold existing uplink and downlink permissions of TV channels should not require security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) every time they make an application for new channels/renewals. A one- time clearance given to the broadcaster should suffice as long as there is no change of ownership.

“Furthermore, the requirement of obtaining prior MHA approval in case of appointment of Director by companies overlaps with the compliance requirement mentioned under Companies Act and should be deleted. Instead, it should be clarified that channel permission once obtained shall be valid for few years viz., ten years instead of yearly renewal. Also, security clearance once granted should be valid until the operational existence of the broadcaster, irrespective of the number of applications for new channels/renewals submitted by the broadcaster,” the USIBC has said.

Turning to the WPC (wireless planning and coordination wing), the lobbying body has suggested there was a need for an online “single window” clearance system for teleports with “standardized timelines that need to be adhered to by all concerned departments and ministries”.

“The validity of the WPC permission issued to teleports to be for 10 years. The WPC portal should be integrated with the ‘single window clearance system’ so as to enable ease of doing business. There are also inordinate delays faced in getting Network Operation and Control Center (NOCC) approvals within a stipulated timeline,” USIBC said.

USIBC membership includes broadcasters, telecom operators, equipment manufacturers, systems integrations, and companies reliant on secure, trusted and efficient global communications networks. These include India’s largest information technology (IT) companies, software platforms, and several innovative Indian media companies developing streaming content, gaming, and esports.

The organisation’s broader digital membership also includes ecommerce, sharing economy, and a diverse set of digital enterprises, as well as the technology service providers and product producers that support and enable India’s rapidly expanding digital economy and telecom manufacturing sectors, USIBC said.

Leveraging digital can help facilitate business and investment and, in this connection, USIBC has suggested that TRAI consider the need for inter-ministerial coordination to “ensure transparent, clear, and light-touch regulations across India’s digital economy”.

“The current structure has decision-making and regulation spread across, with overlaps and inconsistencies, between TRAI, the DoT Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC), MIB, the Department of Space (DoS), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and other agencies that manage Right of Way (RoW), conforming testing, and other compliance requirements.

“This results in complex regulation, delays, overlapping regulations, and conflicting compliance requirements. There are clear opportunities to streamline licensing via online processes, both corresponding to particular ministry/agency requirements, but also across ministries/agencies,” USIBC submitted.