The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, via its latest circular, has announced scheduling the pre-bid conference for the FM Radio Phase-III auction, on October 28.
On October 14, the Ministry issued a notice inviting applications for e-auctions of the third batch of Private FM Radio Phase III channels in 234 cities with 730 channels.
The last date for submission of applications has been set as November 18, 2024.
The pre-bid conference will be held at 11:30 am at Press Information Bureau Conference Hall, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
Read more: Auction charges eased for private FM radio in uncovered new cities
In August, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for the conduct of the third batch of ascending e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities with an estimated reserve price of Rs 784.87 crore under the Private FM Radio Phase-III Policy.
On September 10, MIB then introduced amendments to the Private FM Radio Phase-III policy guidelines. The key updates include new reserve prices- based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommendations for the annual fee structures.
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Permission holders for a new FM radio channel in uncovered cities under Batch-III FM Phase-III auction must pay an annual fee of 4 percent of the channel’s gross revenue for the fiscal, excluding the GST.