I&B Ministry launches Broadcast Seva Portal to provide ease of business in broadcasting sector

New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) The information and broadcasting ministry on Monday launched the Broadcast Seva Portal for speedy filing and processing of applications of broadcasters for various kinds of licenses, permissions and registrations.

The portal was launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and he said that it will bring "transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the ecosystem".

Thakur said that the portal is a giant leap forward in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of 'minimum government, maximum governance' "as this simple and user-friendly web portal provides a broadcaster end-to-end solution with just a click of a mouse".

He said the online platform is a major leap forward in providing ease of doing business in the broadcasting sector.

"It will boost the business environment and empower the entire broadcast sector by directly benefiting more than 900 satellite TV channels, 70 teleport operators, 1,700 multi-service operators, 350 community radio stations, 380 private FM channels and others," he said.

The 360 degree digital solution will facilitate stakeholders in seeking permissions, applying for registration, tracking applications, calculating fees and executing payments, the minister said.

"This portal will provide its services under the wider umbrella efforts of Digital India to all stakeholders to private satellite TV channels, teleport operators, community and private radio channels etc," he said.

Secretary, information and broadcasting ministry, Apurva Chandra, said that the new portal has made several improvements over the previous version and has incorporated suggestions from stakeholders over a trial period of one month.

"The portal had issues earlier. It has been recast and launched today. Several improvements have been made," he said.

Features of the portal include end-to-end processing, integration with payment system (Bharat Kosh); integration with e-office and stakeholder ministries, analytics, reporting and management information system, integrated help-desk, application forms and status tracking, downloading letters or orders from the portal itself and alerts to stakeholders (SMS or emails).