India will allow a 49% foreign stake in broadcasting and telecommunications companies, including service providers. Although this has not been declared in so many words, at least not for broadcasting, Indian telecom providers are permitted to offer a 49% foreign holding to collaborators - the most recent agreement being between US West and India's BPL. However, when the Indian Broadcasting Act to be put before Parliament shortly, it will allow all licenced telecom service providers to become broadcasters, implying a 49% foreign participation in that area too. Broadcasters will not, though, be allowed to offer telecom services.
An analysis of India's forthcoming post-privatisation regulatory bodies for telecom and broadcasting, and exclusive interviews of the country's Secretaries for Telecommunications and Broadcasting, can be found in the sample July 1995 issue of The Indian Techonomist.
See also: Convergence, Indian style - an analysis of India's preference for video dialtones over cable telephony.
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