18 mths on, SGPC awaits nod for own channel to air Gurbani
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s ambitious plan to have a dedicated satellite channel to telecast Gurbani live from the Golden Temple is awaiting the Centre’s nod as current norms mandate registration only in the name of an individual, said an official of the Sikh body.
Shahbaz Singh, additional secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), said a delegation of the Sikh body had held a meeting with the secretary of Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over it a year and half ago after applying for the registration.
He said the delegation had urged the government to relax its norms to allow registration in the name of a religious body.
As per the Sikh Gurdwara Act 1925, under which the SGPC was constituted, nothing can be procured or subscribed in the name of an individual.
Launched on July 24, 2023, YouTube channel “SGPC Sri Amritsar” continues to live telecast Gurbani thrice a day from 4 am to 8.30 am, 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm. Uninterrupted transmission of Gurbani from 3 am to 10 pm is available on Facebook and the SGPC website.
Its subscription on social media platforms has already crossed the 11 lakh-mark while actual viewership is estimated to be over 40 lakhs. The SGPC, in the past, had turned down proposals to monetise it.
In addition to it, the SGPC is also live streaming Gurbani through an internet application for Apple devices like iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
A six-member team of professionals is engaged in broadcasting Gurbani on social media platforms.
They take an upload link from PTC television network, which has its infrastructure in place to record Gurbani. The SGPC is providing Gurbani signal for free to the PTC — a TV network associated with the family of former SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal — in the absence of its own satellite channel.
The SGPC official said once an exclusive religious and non-profitable Gurbani satellite channel was registered, the requisite technicalities would be looked into accordingly. After Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government had managed to pass the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to end the “monopoly” of the PTC channel, the SGPC had announced to set up its own satellite channel.
