I&B minister Anurag Thakur unveils Broadcast Seva Portal, says it will bring transparency, accountability in ecosystem

New Delhi: Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur on Monday launched the Broadcast Seva Portal.

The portal is an online portal solution for speedy filing and processing of applications of broadcasters for various kinds of licenses, permissions, and registrations.

Speaking after inaugurating the portal, Thakur said that the government has harnessed technology to bring transparency in the system and make it more accountable. "The Broadcast Seva Portal will reduce the turnaround time of applications and at the same time help applicants track the progress. The portal will reduce the human interface that was required earlier and thus add to capacity building of the Ministry and will be a major step towards Ease of Doing Business," he said.

Thakur noted that the 360 degree digital solution will facilitate the stakeholders in seeking permissions, applying for registration, tracking applications, calculating fees and executing payments.

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

The Minister mentioned 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 an end-to-end solution with just a click of a mouse.

"It will boost the business environment and empower the entire broadcast sector by directly benefiting more than 900 Satellite TV Channels, 70 Teleport operators, 1700 Multi-service operators, 350 Community Radio Stations (CRS), 380 Private FM Channels and others," he said.

According to the Minister, the test run of the portal received positive feedback from end users. "Soon the portal will be married to the `National Single Window System`. The Ministry is open to further improvements that the industry may feel are required," he said.

Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra said that the new portal has several improvements over the previous version and has incorporated suggestions from stakeholders over a trial period of one month.

The broadcasters present at the launch welcomed the portal and said that it will greatly reduce the distance an application has to travel and the effort required in the application process.