The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) announced the appointment of actress Sharmila Tagore, theatre activist Arundhati Nag and academician Ira Bhaskar as its new non-broadcast members (eminent persons’ category). 

• Tagore, a popular Bollywood actor, served as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) from 2004 to 2011. Bhaskar who is a professor of cinema studies at the School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU was also a member of CBFC till recently.

• BCCC is an independent self-regulatory body for general entertainment channels set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). The appointments for a three-year term were approved by the board of directors of IBF at the 58th meeting of BCCC.  The move follows the exit of actor Shabana Azmi, former bureaucrat Bhaskar Ghose, and print and television journalist Vir Sanghvi, who were given a send-off in the 58th meeting. All three members were associated with BCCC since its inception in 2011.

• The new members will assume their positions at the 59th meeting of BCCC to be held in September 2016. Apart from non-broadcast members, the regulatory body appoints members from National Statutory Commissions and broadcast sector. The 13-member body includes chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes P.L. Punia, Laldingliani Sailo, member of National Commission for Women, Sujeet Jain, group general counsel & company secretary at Viacom18, and A.Mohan, president (legal & regulatory) at Zee Network among its members.