§ 6.41 p.m.
§ Sir S. HOAREI beg to move, in page 77, line 13, to leave out Sub-sections (1) and (2), and to insert:
(1) The Federal Government shall not unreasonably refuse to entrust to the Government of any Province or the Ruler of any Federated State such functions with respect to broadcasting as may be necessary to enable that Government or Ruler—Provided that nothing in this Sub-section shall be construed as requiring the Federal Government to entrust to any such Government or Ruler any control over the use of transmitters constructed or maintained by the Federal Government or by persons authorised by the Federal Government, or over the use of receiving apparatus by persons so authorised.
- (a) to construct and use transmitters in the Province or State;
- (b) to regulate, and impose fees in respect of, the construction and use of transmitters and the use of receiving apparatus in the Province or State.
(2) Any functions so entrusted to a Government or Ruler shall be exercised subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Federal Government, including, notwithstanding anything in this Act, any conditions with respect to finance, but it shall not be lawful for the Federal Government so to impose any conditions regulating the matters broadcast by, or by authority of, the Government or Ruler.2150 This Amendment, although it looks a substantial one, is really very little more than a re-draft of the former provisions in the Bill. It deals with the very important question of broadcasting, and is the result of a great deal of consultation that we have had with the Government of India and the local governments of India and with the British Broadcasting Corporation in London. In a few sentences, let me say that the proposals we make are that broadcasting should be a Federal subject. I think everybody whom we have consulted has agreed that it should be a Federal subject and that wave lengths and so on should be under the control of the Federation, but obviously in India the Provinces must have considerable latitude as to their programmes. The suggestion was made to us that it would be possible to have a division between the kind of broadcasting that the Federal Government might undertake and the kind of broadcasting that the Federal units might undertake, but the further we went into an examination of that question the more impossible we found it to make any cut-and-dried provision of that kind. We therefore came to the conclusion that the arrangement should be, first, that the subject of broadcasting should be a Federal subject, that the bigger questions of policy should be controlled by the Federation, that the greatest possible latitude should be allowed to the Units as to their local programmes and that the Governor-General in his discretion should hold the balance between the two and ensure that the Federation was not withholding unreasonably licences and facilities from the Provinces or the Federal Units. That is the object of the redrafting. Substantially it is the same as the provision in the Bill, but in the redrafted form the position is made clearer.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Further Amendments made: In page 77, line 36, leave out from "whether," to "any" in line 38.
§ In page 77, line 40, leave out "delegate powers," and insert "entrust functions."
§ In page 77, line 41, leave out "or whether any transmitter is a short range transmitter."—[Sir S. Hoare.]
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
2151§ Earl WINTERTONAs I have taken considerable interest in the subject of broadcasting in India I should like to say one word on this Clause. The question has presented grave difficulties in the past and the Secretary of State, the Government of India and the various interests concerned are to be congratulated on having arrived at the wise decision enshrined in this Clause. There is no doubt that broadcasting has a great future, and it is extremely important from the point of any government in power in India, under whatever constitution it may operate, that there should be an opportunity of access to broadcasting throughout India. I congratulate the Secretary of State on what he has done.
§ Sir S. HOAREThank you.