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Tata-Singapore Airlines

The project

A private domestic airline run by the Tatas in partnership with Singapore Airlines. In the first year of operation, the fleet size was to be seven aircraft, to go up to 19 over the next five years. The airline was to fly in all domestic sectors as per existing norms.

Rationale for the project

As per the Planning Commission's projections, the number of passengers travelling by air will grow from 13.80 million in 1996 to 24.32 million in 2001. As of now, neither Indian Airlines nor any other existing private airline is in a position to buy or lease the aircraft required to meet this demand. Tata-SIA was expected to handle part of this extra-capacity requirement

Ownership pattern

Tata Industries Ltd: 60 per cent

Singapore Airlines: 40 per cent

Grounds for rejection

No country permits foreign airlines or airport to participate in their domestic aviation sector for security reasons

Alleged lobbyist against the project

Naresh Goyal, managing director, Jet Airways. It is the only private airline in the country doing well and Tata-SIA would have been its direct competitor

Sequence of events

February 5, 1995: The project is submitted to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

December 21, 1996: FIPB clears the project. The fact comes to light only in the first week of January

January 21, 1997: The FIPB forwards the proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Investment.

January 24, 1997: The issue comes up at the Cabinet meeting but a decision is deferred. The ministry of civil aviation is asked to provide more information

February 2, 1997: Ratan Tata meets C M Ibrahim, explains the project and enquires about its fate.

February 4, 1997: Tata Industries calls a press conference and announces their proposal.

February 7, 1997: Tata's second appointment with Ibrahim is cancelled since the minister is in Karnataka and is busy with the by-elections.

April 1, 1997: The Cabinet decides that no foreign airline or airport can invest in India's domestic sector

Star TV's DTH project

The project

News Corporation's first direct-to-home service provider for India. It is often referred to as STAR TV's DTH service whereas actually both STAR and I Sky B are subsidiaries of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation Ltd.

In a DTH service, every subscriber gets satellite signals directly at home rather than through the cable operator. Transmission is done on what is called the KU-band frequency. Until now, all signals bamed to India use the C-band method of transmission which has a larger footprint and can be picked up on a bigger dish. The KU-band, however, delivers a much more powerful signal over a smaller area

Rationale for the project

Cable transmission has obvious geographical constraints and technologically, is not the most elegant way of providing television service. Also, the problem is heightened by operators using substandard cables and breaking zoning regulations while laying them. Besides, the viewer does not always get to choose what he wants to see

Cost to Subscriber

An initial investment of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for the equipment and a monthly fee of Rs 500 for 50 channels

Alleged lobbyist against the project

Subhash Chandra Goyal's Zee TV. This is another salvo in the STAR-Zee war. Whoever launches the DTH service first will be able to capture a majority of the television audience. Goyal could delay the project till he is ready with his own

Grounds for rejection

Private broadcasting is not a Fundamental Right as per a Supreme Court judgment. If the government can stop Indian citizens from broadcasting, why should a foreigner be given this right?

Sequence of events

October 1996: Ratikanth Basu took office as chief executive officer of STAR TV's India operations. A proposal to join STAR's DTH platform was sent to Zee TV

November 1996: Negotiations with regional television channels began. A proposal was also sent to Doordarshan and the service was slated to be launched by March this year

December 1996: The I&B ministry under C M Ibrahim panicked and sent a proposal to the committee of secretaries to ban KU-band dishes. The proposal was turned down

December 19, 1996: A notification was issued by the department of telecommunications stipulating that a licence would be required for dealing in, maintenance and possession of 'dish antenna, satellite decoder or associated front end converter' for receiving KU-band signals

January 1997: The ministry announced to the media that it would auction the DTH frequencies to two bidders. It would all be formalised after the Broadcasting Bill was enacted A Cabinet meeting held on January 27, referred the draft of the Broadcasting Bill to a Cabinet sub-committee. This body included Ibrahim, Murasoli Maran, P Chidambaram and Deve Gowda

February 16, 1997: A meeting of the sub-committee was held

March 26, 1997: STAR held a preview of its DTH project, India Sky Broadcasting (I Sky B)

April 1, 1997: I Sky B customer service cells were opened in Delhi and Bombay. Prominent advertisements appeared in major dailies

April 4, 1997: The ministry issued a notice warning the public that they would be liable to prosecution under the Indian Telegraph Act if they subscribed to DTH services

April 7, 1997: Secretaries from the ministries of telecommunications, law and I&B held a meeting to look into the situation and find some other way to stop DTH. The same day, News Corp threatened to take legal action to push through its DTH service.

Kind courtesy: Sunday magazine