[cr-india] next I&B secretary - Raghu Menon?

[sajan venniyoor]

Raghu Menon likely to take charge as I&B secretary on June 1
The Financial Express, Soma Das, 22.5.2009

New Delhi: The soon to be vacant post of secretary, information and
broadcasting (I&B) ministry seems to have found a suitor  in Raghu Menon,
former CMD Air India and ex special secretary, civil aviation who, according
to official sources is all set to join on June 1.

Menon, a 1974 batch IAS of Nagaland cadre would succeed the present
secretary Sushma Singh who retires on the last day of this month. For Menon,
I&B is not an unfamiliar territory as he has earlier served three stints in
the I&B ministry . For the first time in 1993-94 followed by the second
stint in the capacity of joint secretary between 1994-1999 and finally as an
additional secy in 2006.

The new I&B secretary would have his hands full with scores of unresolved
issues waiting for him in the ministry.The issue of third round of FM radio
expansion, wherein over 700 FM station licences in 210 cities and towns
(majority of which lying in tier II and tier III towns) are to auctioned
needs to sorted out.

Making the issue cumbersome is the unresolved tussle between music industry
and the FM radio players on the amount and form of royalty. Other major
issues pending in the ministry include a final decision on the hike in FDI
in cable networks, DTH and a host of other carriage platforms, as well as
the roll out of conditional access system. The policy in areas like
television rating points and restructuring of cable services, other than
cross media restrictions also need firming up. Recommendation on the above
have already been sent by the broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (Trai) to I&B  .

The highlight of  Singh’s tenure was clearance of policy guidelines for
Internet Protocol  Television and allowing 100% FDI in facsimile edition of
foreign magazines and newspapers. Although the ministry tried to intervene
and mediate between the FM players and music industry, it failed to make
much progress on that front.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/raghu-menon-likely-to-take-charge-as-i&b-secretary-on-june-1/463881/
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