In September, senior Congress leader and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni had reposed great faith in the Indian housewife. In an interview to NDTV on the limit of six subsidized LPG gas cylinders per household, she said: “I do hope that the Indian housewife will once again rise to the occasion. As a woman, I know how difficult it will be as the Indian housewife has to manage budgets.”
Coming from Soni, such a rise-to-theoccasion call is all too familiar - a road she has oft travelled. For the soon-to-be-70 lady of Indian politics – November 13 is barely weeks away – Soni’s been there whenever the Congress has needed someone to speak for it. And she is heard.
Known in the media circles as an erudite, approachable, educated speaker, much respected for her clarity of thought, Soni makes no bones of her proximity to the ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. In fact, it is known that when Soni speaks, it’s likely to convey the ideas and plans of action of the highest quarters of the Congress.
Soni was among the foremost to join Indira Gandhi’s emergent new Congress, having formally snapped all ties with the old guard in the party at the Congress session in Bangalore in 1969. Some call it a stroke of genius towards giving Indira absolute control over all the organs of the state, while others call it the Great Congress Divide.
By the time mid-seventies rolled in, Soni was in the thick of it, first as the Indian Youth Congress’ general secretary and thereafter becoming its president in November 1975. Year 1976 marked her joining the split faction of Congress, -- the Congress (S) -- the other members of which then included the AK Antony, Sharad Pawar, Priyaranjan Das Munshi and KP Unnikrishnan. Although criticized for playing “second fiddle” during the Emergency, Soni, by her own admission, went to prison as many as 50 times.
For nearly a decade after that, Soni was not heard about much, going about her business quietly. Neither was any key responsibility given nor did her association with the party develop any cracks worth a mention. Soni’s second coming to mainstream politics was marked when in September 1988, Congress President Rajiv Gandhi appointed her to the Committee on Policy and Programmes under the chairmanship of VN Gadgil. The committee was ostensibly tasked with, among other things, to formulate the way-forward documents on the party’s approach to electoral reforms and voting powers (lowering of voting age); on short-term economic programmes; and on Panchayati Raj.
“Ambika Soni has this great resilience in her. Her never-say-die spirit has seen her through many ups and downs. Her integrity has been unimpeachable and her loyalty to the Congress and Sonia Gandhi is beyond any question,” said Professor Deepak Malhotra in an interview to the Hindustan Times after she became the I&B minister in 2009. Prof Malhotra knew Soni since she was the general secretary of IYC and he the general secretary of the Congress’s National Students Union of India (NSUI) in 1974.
Her entry to the powerful committee indicated her full-time, high-profile return to Indian politics with the party of her choice – the Congress – was complete. The same year she became the president of the Mahila Congress, later the chief of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Soon after Sonia Gandhi took over as the Congress president in 1998, Soni became the AICC General Secretary in 1999 and remained in the post till 2006. Her elevation to the Cabinet came in the form of Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture in the UPA-I government. In May 2009, she took over as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting in UPA-II from Anand Sharma. Sharma, then Minister of State for External Affairs, had the additional charge of I&B since Priyaranjan Dashmunsi was indisposed.
AT THE HELM, AGAINST ALL ODDS
Loyalty’s imperatives are so varied. Particularly in Indian politics where there’s no such thing as the single-largest party that can form a government on its own. As alliance politics emerged, so did the ranks of turncoats, horse-traders, political salesmen, defectors and game-changers who could pay the required sums in millions and billions to purchase politicians.
As the ‘game’ of power politics has come to make us realize, parties have become wary of exposing their leaders to too much of public heat, lest they defect. Grass, as they say, is always greener on the other side, sometimes even in the shadows of public arclights. Added to this, coalition politics has hit governance hard, giving rise to a mass wish for a stable government led by a single political party.
At the same time, within these emerging realities and allegations against UPA-II hiding behind coalition there exist some, like Ambika Soni, regarded for their rocksolid allegiance, thus their words firmly representing the ideas of the parties they belong to.
It hasn’t been easy for Soni, the Congressperson. Litmus tests done, responsibilities came, followed by more litmus tests. So, Soni draws as much praise as she does flak, even as a Cabinet minister. I have been closely following this politician of substance since her second coming within the Congress. And this is my conclusion – you can throw bouquets or brickbats at her, but you have to listen to her carefully, lest you miss out on what the position of the Congress – or the UPA – is.
CABINET RUN I -- MINISTER FOR CULTURE AND TOURISM
For Ambika Soni, a Cabinet role came more than 30 years late in her political career. But as they say, a couple of decades, another two here and there, in Indian politics is never too late, just a mark of the arrival of a seasoned politician. Therefore, when she became the Tourism and Culture Minister on January 30, 2006, the transition was described as “just a beginning of a journey” by her.
Indeed it was. For, in the following years, as Soni held the two ministries, she made successful bids to change the face of India at home and overseas with the ‘Incredible India’ campaign, winning World Heritage Site status for the Red Fort. Both efforts were well recognized across the media and the masses alike.
The Ministry of Tourism and Culture flagged off the ‘Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Scheme’ to enhance the availability of rooms for tourists.
During Soni’s tenure, India’s culture too received booster doses, primary among them were:
1. Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages
2. The 15th Triennial Conference of International Council of Museums – Committee for Conservation ICOM-CC, with ‘Diversity in Heritage Conservation: Tradition, Innovation and Participation’ as the central theme
3. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee’s decision to inscribe Kalka- Shimla Railway on the World Heritage List
4. The Festivals of India: The Beijing razzmatazz in 2008 was to mark the opening of the India Tourism Office in the Chinese capital.
5. The Brunei-India MoU on cooperation Culture, Art and Sports.
During Soni’s tenure as the Culture and Tourism minister, North-east states comprised one single corner of the country getting noticeable boost, be it with the Octaves or national mahotsavs, again, earning kudos for her in the media.
Another highlight of her tenure was the simplification of clearance for any theatrical performance in Delhi, thus the rise of the nukkad nataks, jatras and such across the Capital.
There’s one school of thought that Soni could have done a lot more, in terms of overhauling the infrastructure of Indian tourism and freeing cultural institutions from the stranglehold of individuals.
But tourism and cultural promotion are two subjects of larger national interest, complementing each other. Indeed, people sensitive to preservation and conservation of heritage sites play an important role in ensuring that the common goal of tourism and culture are met. Post 2005, India went through the highs of the second-fastest growing economy it was till early 2008, and then gradually went down with the onset of the global economic slowdown. And tourism, during Soni’s tenure, did all it could to let the ranks of the foreign tourists grow, budgetary constraints and increasing land cost notwithstanding.
Another growth area during Ambika Soni’s tenure as the Culture and Tourism Minister was medical tourism. Even at the start of her tenure, Soni strengthened the foundation for medical tourism in India. I remember her speaking at the release of the Incredible India Brochure on Medical Tourism, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry and Indian Healthcare Federation (IHF) on August 31, 2006 -- not even a year after assuming the dual office.
In her address, Soni promised an aggressive approach to promote India as a global healthcare destination “offering a holistic approach to health”.
According to IndiaMART.com, the online B2B marketplace for SMEs, “it is estimated that the market size of medical tourism in India, which was witnessing more than 25% growth rate annually, stands at more than $2.5 billion”. The revenue and volumes from foreign patients have been surging at 40% year-on-year.
Soni’s tenure as the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism had been burdened by several forces – the beginning of the global meltdown, natural calamities and the outbreak of swine flu first in 2006, to name a few. Despite such odds, that tourism continued to show signs of health, and cultural exchanges continued overseas, can only be attributed to a definite push towards these two areas by the then Government of India, via the dual ministry she led.
If that does not silence Soni’s critics, I don’t know what will.
HARBINGER OF CHANGE AND DIGITAL VALUE-ADD
It was 2009, the year of general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha. And the buzz was that the Congress was getting ready to dump its catchphrase aam admi for another suitable to the times. In fact, a report by The Indian Express in January end that year, quoting then party Central Election Manifesto Committee sources, said aam aadmi, which had figured right on the cover of the party’s manifesto in the previous general election, was “difficult to trace” in the 100-page draft manifesto for the year.
Come April-May 2009. Elections. Poll watchers said the results, a thumping victory for the Congress, were a handsome reward for the party for its inclusive pluralism and pursuit of Left-of-Centre policies through measures such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, loan-waiver for farmers in distress, and the Right to Information Act. Focus on Aam admi, again.
Thus when Ambika Soni took over as the Information and Broadcasting Minister the following June, the role she had to play was as crucial and imperative as a new campaign unfolding for a rebranded product. For, her ministry had to project the aspirations, and the intent, of a Congress on a victory march ready to reach out to the masses and extend its welfare schemes to the far-flung corners of the country.
Further, as of January 14, 2009, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had decreed India’s readiness to welcome FDI in the publication of facsimile editions of foreign newspapers and also with respect to the publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news and current affairs. As per the ministry then, FDI of up to 100% was to be permitted with prior approval of the Government in publication of facsimile edition of foreign newspapers provided the FDI is by the owner of the original foreign newspaper(s) whose facsimile edition is proposed to be brought out in India. Obviously, in such a scenario, where foreign media groups wanted to make their presence felt in the Indian market, there was an inherent challenge for the then new I&B minister.
But then, as her supporters say, Soni is made of sterner stuff. Having had a close brush with the media for the All-India Congress Committee just before she took over the I&B ministry, she put the learning to practice. Connect to the aam admi. In her first address, the new I&B minister made it clear that her primary focus areas would include wide coverage of the Commonwealth Games which was then just about 15 months away, drawing up a consensus on the content code for news broadcasters and looking into the demands of print as well as electronic media.
Of her initial years, online magazine The Big Indian Picture writes, “As Minister of Information & Broadcasting Soni started off on the right foot. She revived the NFDC by injecting fresh capital when it had all but shut down. Today, while she does take time out to deal with key party matters such as negotiations on the FDI and fuel price hike issues with Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee, the I&B Minister is also always at the forefront of debates pertaining to censorship and the authentication of TRP ratings.”
RETUNING DOODARSHAN-ALL INDIA RADIO
Everyone likes to portray Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) as organizations beyond redemption, in the stranglehold of politicians and babus with no innovation and foresight, doomed for all times to come. At the same time, one can’t deny that both have been the real providers of information, education and entertainment to Bharat. And time for the critics to exercise some restraint.
For, Doordarshan is set for a revival in quality and content, with budgetary infusion of Rs 140 crore for production and acquisition of fresh software for programmes aired by its 35 channels. The Deccan Herald emphasises that the scheme has been “formulated at the initiative of the Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni (and) would enable DD to enhance its fresh contents from six hours to 14 hours”. This plan, the South-based daily reported, is expected to generate an about Rs 40 crore.
On the other hand, Rs 1.44 billion was allocated in the XIth Five-Year Plan for the expansion and revamping of the FM network, along with a sum of Rs 3.85 billion approved for expansion and revamp of the Medium Wave channels of All India Radio. As part of this overhaul programme, the radioandmusic.com reports, AIR will make a “a conscious effort to break away from the mould of serious radio (and) change its format and repackage shows after 32 years. It plans to focus more on intimate, friendly and interactive programming initiatives.”
Starting November 12th, expect FM Rainbow (102.6 MHz) and FM Gold (106.4 MHz) to have fresh college and universitygoing voices belting out what suits the young and fun-loving.
At the same time, Ambika Soni has drawn stinging flak for running autonomous Prasar Bharati – comprising DD and AIR – like a body she desperately wants to be in control. In fact, Nora Chopra, in her column Buzzword for The Sunday Guardian, squarely blames Soni for rendering Prasar “headless”. How? why? Chopra writes: “At present, Prasar is being run on an ad hoc basis by the acting CEO, Rajiv Takroo, who is an additional secretary with the I&B Ministry. Hectic lobbying is going on for the post of Prasar CEO. Those in the race include Sunit Tandon, director of Indian Institute of Mass Communication; Jawahar Sircar, the former culture secretary; and Raghu Menon, erstwhile secretary with I&B. But Ambika Soni is in no hurry to appoint a CEO. It is being said that she wants to run Prasar, which is an autonomous body, through Rajiv Takroo.”
Be that as it may, Soni’s initiative has made it possible for the government to bring about a slew of changes for the national broadcaster. Among them, is the FDI route. The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) in September relaxed the FDI limit in direct-to-home (DTH), Cable Networks and teleports to 74% from the earlier 49%, and approved the proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion allowing 74% foreign direct investment in mobile TV. Other measures include financial restructuring of Prasar Bharati which will be relevant considering the Cabinet’s approval of 100% expenses towards salary and salary-related expenses of Prasar Bharti for the next five years.
DIGITIZATION – FEATHER IN HER CAP
Although the phase-wise mandatory digitization of cable TV operations has had a controversial start – cable operators have contested the government’s claim of 87% digitization in four metros; they say it drastically reduced the number of cable television connections to prove higher penetration -- the merits of the exercise cannot be ignored.
As per technology research Gartner, in the current new world order, where every budget is becoming an ‘IT budget’, organizations are digitizing to service their clients to “drive higher client retention” and also turning it into “new revenue streams”. Translate this into the cable TV operations in India, this would simply mean the single-most reformative change within the broadcast sector which would help operators expand their revenue sources. Ipso facto, digitization will not only enable operators to provide more choices to the customers but also help in determining the exact number of subscribers and reduce carriage fee and human error.
Further, according to the New Yorkbased ABI Research, in its study, the Indian Set Top Box Market, predicts that the market is poised for a fillip in high definition (HD) TV adoption with a boost to digitization. “The increasing adoption of HDTV sets and cable TV digitization is expected to bring more HD channels and HD services in India,” Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst, ABI, has said.
The ABI study also predicts that domestic STB production will increase – particularly for low cost STBs, while some overseas companies will establish set-top box manufacturing facilities within India. The market has already given a thumbs-up to the government’s move to digitize the industry. Initially when the deadline was set for June 30, 2012, shares of cable television services providers and broadcasters outperformed benchmark indices in the first six months of the year, the Economic Times had then reported. Again, when the deadline of October 31 for cable TV-enabled households across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai to install set-top boxes neared, scrips such as Sun TV, saw their stocks gain on the NSE. Now, with Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata going totally digital from November 1, we can look forward to an array of subscription-based specialist channels. Further, digitisation comes with a promise of differentiated, high-quality programming. Let them role out all the fun. I, for one, as an avid TV viewer, am not complaining. Are you?
Think Ambika Soni deserves a big Thank you?! Think this is striking a chord with the aam admi like me?
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