Membership Norms
To enroll as a Member of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) [Formerly known as News Broadcasters Association (NBA)], please follow a simple four step process:
There are two categories of membership:
a. The Board may, in its absolute discretion, grant Associate membership to a corporateentity notbeingqualifiedtobeMemberbutbeingownerofoneormoreTVchannel/sbroadcasting news/ and/or current affairs capsules at least as part of its programme content and holding permissionfromtheGovernmentofIndiatouplinkand/ordownlinksuchTVchannel/sfrom Indian territory and being engaged in such business in the ordinary course as a consequence of such permission, provided it has been on air for a minimum period of oneyear.
OR
b. The Board may, in its absolute discretion, grant Associate Membership to any person, CorporateEntityorBodyCorporateorSoleProprietorshiporPartnershiporTrustoraSociety or an Association or any other Entity , which is engaged in the business of software production, marketing and sale of content for news and current affairs channels or other broadcasting anddigital media or other organizations, including but not limited to digital news platforms, signal distributors, news agencies, trainers, airtime sellers, mobile apps, Over-the-Top (OTT) and Video on Demand (VOD) platforms, direct broadcasting satellite, computer network, other intermediaries and service providers.
Provided that the Associate Member should be engaged in such business for a minimum period of one year.
Provided, however that nothing shall be deemed to prohibit the Board from enrolling as an Associate Member any corporate entity which is a foreign body corporate or a foreign association or institution based overseas, subject however to such corporate entity obtaining such permission/approval/sanction, if any, as may be required to be obtained from the competent authorities for such purpose.
The Board may, however, in its discretion, in exceptional circumstances, waive or reduce the aforementioned eligibility requirement of One year for a Member or Associate Member as mentioned above.
‘Associate Member’ shall neither be entitled to voting rights nor shall be eligible for election to the Board of the Association.
The present fee structure for membership is as under:
Annual Membership subscription is Rs 5,00,000/- per corporate entity and further subscription of Rs 25,000/- for each additional channel owned by the member.
Annual Membership subscription is Rs.1,50,000/- per corporate entity and further subscription of Rs 25,000/- for each additional channel owned by the associate member.
Associate Member ( Digital) - Any Entity/Person other than Television News Broadcaster
Annual Membership subscription is Rs.1,50,000/- per associate member.
Provided that for an Associate Member (Digital) being an Entity/Person whose gross turnover is upto Rs.30 lakhs per annum or less, the annual membership subscription will be Rs.50,000/-.
Annual additional subscription for a Member/Associate Member for meeting the expenses of News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) is as follows:
| S. No | Category | Fees |
| 1 | Members (Television News Broadcasters) | |
| Television News Broadcasters | Rs. 1,00,000 | |
| Digital Media of Television News Broadcasters | Rs. 75,000 | |
| 2. | Associate Members (Television News Broadcasters) | |
| Television News Broadcasters | Rs. 25,000 | |
| Digital Media of Television News Broadcasters | Rs. 10,000 | |
| 3. | Further Subscription for each Additional Channel in case of Television News Broadcasters | Rs. 15,000 |
| 4. | Associate Members (Digital) [any Entity/Person other Television News Broadcasters] | Rs. 35,000 |
An entrance fee of Rs. 50,000/- is payable by every Member/Associate Member. The Board shall have the power to increase the said fee provided that such increase is not more than 100% over the existing fee at any point of time. Any increase beyond this limit shall require the prior approval of the Members in the General Body Meeting.
Every Member/Associate Member shall be liable to pay annual subscription of such an amount as the Board may decide from time to time. Such annual subscription shall be payable in advance and shall become due on 1st of April each year for the Financial Year from April 1 to March 31 and be paid on or before May 31.
A Member/Associate Member admitted in the middle of the ‘Financial Year’ shall pay the subscription pro-rata on quarterly basis for the quarters remaining in that financial year.
A Member/Associate Member ceasing to be a Member/Associate Member of the Association during the financial year shall not be entitled for refund of subscription or such other funds and levies paid.
Where in the opinion of the Board, the Association is required to make some unusual expenditure or commitment in furtherance of its objectives or in the interests of the Association or its Members/Associate Members, the Board shall be empowered to levy such additional sums on its Members/Associate Members, on an equitable basis, provided that in any financial year, such levies shall not exceed an amount equal to the annual subscription payable by the Members/Associate Members.
The Board is empowered to prescribe the procedure and make regulations from time to time for admission of Members/Associate Members and may in their absolute discretion either admit or reject any application for membership of the Association and shall not be bound to give reasons for any such rejection.
No rejected applicant shall be entitled to visit the Association premises or attend anymeetings of the Association without the permission of the President.
After approval of the application for membership by the Board, the Secretary General shall notify the same to the applicant in writing to remit the entrance fee, membership subscription and such other levies as may be decided by the Board from time to time.
In case the aforesaid payment is not made within one month of the date of such intimation, such approval shall become void and the application for membership shall be deemed to have been rejected.
The date of admission shall be the date on which the applicant makes payment of aforesaid entrance fee, subscription fee, and other levies. Newly admitted Member/Associate Member shall be permitted to enjoy the privileges of a Member/Associate Member only from the date of such admission.
After the date of admission, the Secretary General shall intimate the applicant of its membership and shall furnish the Member/Associate Member with a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Rules, Regulations, or Bye-laws, if any, for the time being in force.
Any Member/Associate Member of NBDA can resign or withdraw from the membership of NBDA by giving not less than one month’s notice in writing to the Secretary General of its intention to do so.
Any Member/Associate Member resigning from the membership of the Association at any time after the commencement of the Financial Year shall be liable to pay to the Association the full year’s subscription and any other fee or dues payable as on that date.
No Member/Associate Member shall, by virtue of giving up membership to the Association for any reason whatsoever, be entitled to the refund of any subscription or any other fee or dues already paid to the Association.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Articles hereinbefore, the Association may refuse to accept the resignation of a Member/Associate Member unless it has paid to the Association all arrears of subscription, other fee and dues, which may be payable to the Association on that date. The Association shall have the uninterrupted right to recover the amount remaining due from such Member/Associate Member, with or without fine, at any time.
A Member/Associate Member may, subject to a decision of the Board, cease to be a Member/Associate Member of the Association:
upon default in payment of subscription and other dues in terms of Article 6;
upon a Member/Associate Member resigning in the manner laid down in Article 9;
upon a Member/Associate Member going into liquidation or winding-up other than for reasons only of reorganization, merger and/or acquisition
Provided in case of merger/amalgamation, the resulting entity must fulfill the requirement of Membership and must apply in writing to the Association for Membership;
upon suspension/revocation of the permission held by the Member/Associate Member for Uplinking and/or Downlinking issued by the Government of India or upon closure/suspension of its operations;
upon intimation by the Association to the Member/Associate Member of its disqualification by reason of any representation made or any application, document or statement submitted at the time of application for Membership being found to be false, untrue or otherwise unsatisfactory, by the Board;
upon intimation by the Association of the non-compliance or non - acceptance of any Rule, Regulation or Bye laws of the Association or any directive of the Board, by the Member/Associate Member.
A Member/Associate Member shall not cease to be a Member/Associate Member of the Association upon any change in its name or constitution or the Board of Directors or its shareholding provided even after such change, it is still eligible to be a Member/Associate Member of the Association. However, in such a case, the Member/Associate Member shall be obligated to intimate the details thereof to the Association within seven days of any such change.
If the Board finds that a Member/Associate Member is guilty of misconduct or behavior prejudicial to the interests of the Association, or that the Member/Associate Member has refused or neglected or failed to comply with any provisions of these Articles or any Rules or Regulations or Bye-laws or any directives of the Board or its Committee or Sub-Committee or fails to comply with the Directions/Orders passed by the Self Regulatory Body/ies of the Association or is guilty of such conduct as the Board considers likely to endanger the harmony or effect the character or stability or interest of the Association or its Members/Associate Members, the Board shall pass a resolution to that effect in the Board meeting and subsequently call a Special General Body Meeting of the Members/Associate Members notifying the intention to propose the resolution for suspension or expulsion of the Member/Associate Member. Such notice shall be given, by any mode of recorded delivery by the Board, before passing such resolution.
Provided that such Member/Associate Member shall at the meeting and before the passing of such resolution be given an opportunity to provide orally or in writing, any explanation or defence as it may think fit.
Provided further that the quorum of such Special General Body Meeting shall not be less than five Members present in person. In case the quorum falls below such number, the meeting shall be adjourned to such date as the Board thinks fit. If at the adjourned meeting also the requisite quorum is not present, the meeting shall proceed to transact the business without the said quorum provided that at least two Members entitled to participate, and vote are present at the adjourned meeting.
Voting at such Special General Body Meeting shall be by secret ballot. On passing of such resolution, the Member/Associate Member shall forthwith stand suspended or expelled, as the case may be, and shall not have any claim against the Board or the Association.
The decision of the Special General Body Meeting shall be final. No Member/Associate Member suspended or expelled shall be entitled to the refund of subscription or any other fee or levy already paid to the Association.
Fine or Penalty
The Board shall, in addition to any legal action that it may decide to take, be competent to impose such fine as it may deem fit and necessary for any of the following acts or omissions on the part of the Member/Associate Member:
Restoration of Membership
A Member/Associate Member, who has been expelled shall not be eligible for re-admission for a period of one year from the date of such expulsion and provided that not less than three Members/Associate Members in addition to the proposer and seconder concur to the proposal for its re-admission.
In case a Member/Associate Member ceases to be a Member/Associate Member due to suspension/closure of its business, the Board may at its absolute discretion give three months’ time to such Member/Associate Member to regularize its business and if the Member/Associate Member fails to do so, it shall cease to be the Member/Associate Member of the Association after the expiry of said period of three months, unless extended, with the unanimous consent of the Board.
In case a Member/Associate Member ceases to be a Member/Associate Member due to non-payment of Membership subscription and other dues, the membership can be restored at any subsequent time on its paying the subscription due and such fee and levy then in force, along with entrance fee.
No Member shall be eligible to have its nominee elected to the Board unless its name shall have been in the list of Members for at least six months prior to the date of the Ordinary General Body Meeting. A Member who has defaulted in the payment of subscription fee or other dues and levies or against whom disciplinary action is pending or who fails to comply with the Directions/Orders passed by the Self-Regulatory Body/ies of the Association shall not be eligible for election. A representative of a Member, who has been re-admitted after expulsion, shall not be eligible for election for a period of one year after such re-admission.
To become eligible to have its representative nominated and elected to the Board, the concerned Member shall provide a certificate from the Statutory Auditors to the effect that its annual turnover is more than Rupees Five crores in respect of the Financial Year ended prior to the date of the said certificate.
A representative of any Member (other than a retiring Director) shall be eligible for appointment to the office of Director at any General Body Meeting, if some Member intending to propose him has not less than /fourteen days before the meeting, submit to the office of the Association a notice in writing signifying his candidature for the office of Director or the intention of such Member to propose him as a candidate for that office, as the case may be. In order for such nomination to be effective, the same shall be proposed by one Member and seconded by another. The Association shall thereupon inform its Members of the candidature of such person for the office of Directorship by serving individual notices to all the Members not less than 48 hours before the meeting.
However, there shall be no requirement for such nomination in case of a retiring Director offering himself for re-election.
The Association shall not be responsible for considering or remedying any defective, incomplete or delayed notice of candidature.
Every Member/Associate Member shall abide by the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and Guidelines, as may be issued by the Board/Self – Regulatory Body/ies from time to time.
Non-compliance with any of the clauses of the aforesaid Code or Guidelines will be treated as a disqualification for continuing as a Member/Associate Member of NBDA and such membership shall be liable to be terminated.