Elders demand strengtheing of AIR, DD

New Delhi, Mar 13 (UNI) Members of the Rajya Sabha, cutting across party lines, today demanded strengthening of the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) asking the government to come out with clear policy guidelines to fulfil their role as agencies of social change and national unity.

While the opposition BJP stressed the need to have a ''content regulator,'' the CPI(M), an important ally of the government, wanted a check on ''demeaning and insulting portrayal of women in (private television channel) advertisements.'' Participating in a discussion on the Working of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) wanted a categorical statement from the government on the issue of convergence, saying the rate of growth of the Indian entertainment industry was 18 per cent. He called for a change in the mindset of the government to carry forward the process.

Mrs Brinda Karat (CPI-M) strongly objected to indecent portrayal of women in advertisements and demanded a clarification from the government on the question of FDI in the media.

Earlier, Mr Rajeev Shukla of the Akhil Bhartiya Loktantrik Congress (ABLC), who initiated the discussion, demanded more budgetary allocation for the entertainment industry, strengthening of the Film Censor Board and effective measures to check piracy.

He said the entertainment industry had grown from Rs 35,000 crore to 83,000 crore during the past ten years.

Like the IT and Knowledge Industry, XXX Picking up from Third Para of PAR 35 Media-I&B Working RS.

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