The Indian government will introduce the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill in the coming parliament session this month. The bill contains several harsh clauses meant to gag electronic media.

Electronic media representatives held a meeting with Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi in May. There, the government expressed reservations and complained about how events were being covered in India by electronic media. Coverage of uprising of Gujjars in Rajasthan also created friction between media and the government.

The bill was introduced initially in parliament last year, has caused a debate in the Indian media and was scrutinised by a House Select Committee, causing the government to revise and reintroduce the bill.