Amendments in FM radio expansion guidelines cleared

The government has approved the proposed amendments in its policy guidelines for private FM radio stations, aiming to pave the way for their expansion in smaller cities.

The key amendment of lowering the financial eligibility criteria will now allow participation of companies with net worth of just Rs 1 crore, in place of Rs 1.5 crore earlier, in biddings for 'C' and 'D' category cities.

Besides, the government has decided to remove the three-year window period for restructuring of FM radio permissions within the same management group during the license period of 15 years.

It has also accepted the long pending demand of players in the radio industry to remove the 15% national cap on channel holding.