NEW DELHI: The Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd (Becil) is floating a new tender in the near future for an alternative mechanism to develop content acquisition facility for FM and community radio stations.

Becil had floated tenders for award of job for setting up monitoring facility for FM and CR stations. However, it could not get any valid response for establishing IT based radio monitoring system.

“The tender was reissued in 2014-15, but only one tenderer responded,” the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology - which examines issues relating to Information and Broadcasting Ministry - was informed.

The Committee emphatically recommended that the ministry should make efforts to expedite the content acquisition facility for FM and CRS and apprise the Committee of the progress made in this regard.

The Committee observed that as the Government thrust is shifting towards FM, the number of FM channels in the country is increasing and it is being felt that the monitoring of FM channels and CRS should also be brought under the purview of Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) within a definite timeframe.

Meanwhile, Ministry sources told radioandmusic.com that all private broadcasters of FM have been told to preserve the recordings of content broadcast by the Permission Holder for a period of three months from the date of broadcast and produce the same to the Government or its authorised representative, as and when required. They have also been asked to provide the necessary equipment, services and facilities at designated places as may be required and pay such charges as may be required for continuous monitoring of the broadcast content by or under supervision of the Government or its authorized representative.

Under clause 20.1 of the Policy Guidelines on expansion of FM Radio broadcasting services through private agencies (Phase-III), the company has to provide the necessary equipment, services and facilities at designated place(s) for continuous measuring, recording and monitoring of prescribed technical parameters of broadcast as may be required and shall pay such charges as may be required for continuous monitoring of the broadcast services to BECIL.