The Hindu Business Line : Foreign investment in news agencies being reviewed

AFTER permitting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the print media, the Government has decided to look into the issue of allowing foreign investment in news agencies.

Currently foreign agencies can distribute news in India only through an Indian news agency.

Officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said that the entire issue of foreign investment in news agencies was being reviewed. "Once FDI is permitted in print, there is no reason why news agencies should be left out," an official said.

The Government would, however, try to ensure that both management and editorial control remains in the hands of Indians, something on the lines of opening up of the print media.

Under a 1956 Cabinet resolution foreign news agencies can distribute news only through Indian news agencies. The resolution states that "... communication facilities can be granted only where the distribution of news within the country is to be effected through an Indian news agency, which would have full and final authority in the selection of foreign news for distribution and which would also be in a position to supply Indian news, in reasonable volume, to the foreign news agencies with whom they have a working arrangement."

Currently, almost all the big wire services are available in India.

But industry sources said that several of them had adopted complex structures and distributed their services directly. There were several grey areas that needed to be addressed. For instance, direct distribution of financial news by foreign news agencies to select clients for their use and not for further distribution or publication has been allowed. "Some of the existing news agencies use this route. They distribute their news through specialised services meant for financial companies," said an industry source.

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