Cabinet approves 26% FDI in digital media with government approval

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 26% foreign direct investment (FDI) in digital media sector with government approval. The decision was announced by Commerce and Industry Ministry Piyush Goyal at a press conference.

It is to be noted that 26% FDI is already allowed in print media sector and 49% FDI is permitted in broadcasting content services, both through the government approval route. 

The extant FDI policy currently allows 49% FDI under approval route in Up-linking of 'News &Current Affairs' TV Channels. Now the Cabinet has decided to permit 26% FDI under government route for uploading/ streaming of News & Current Affairs through Digital Media, on the lines of print media.

Experts maintain that the digital media sector is growing rapidly in India and it is likely that this sector would overtake film entertainment in 2019 and print by 2021.

At the same press conference,  Prakash Javadekar, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, announced that India will soon have 75 new medical colleges in the next three years with the Centre spending Rs 24,375 crore on the institutes to ensure better healthcare facilities in areas lacking them. 

Javadekar said that the Cabinet has approved to establish new medical colleges in areas having no medical college with at least 200-bed district hospital. The government declared that preference will be given to aspirational districts and district hospital having 300 beds for the establishment of the new colleges. Continuing the focus on the creation of health care infrastructure, the Central Government had earlier approved to establish 58 new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals under Phase-I and 24 under Phase-II. Of this, 39 medical colleges under Phase-I, have already started functioning, while the remaining 19 would be made functional by 2020-21. Under Phase-II, 18 new medical colleges have been approved.

"The establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals, would lead to an increase in the availability of qualified health professionals, improve tertiary care in the government sector, utilize the existing infrastructure of districts hospitals and promote affordable medical education in the country," said Javadekar.