MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to scrap the rotational policy of appointing president.

The BCCI has called for a Special General Meeting in Chennai on 15 September to make amendments to the clause that will allow candidates from any of the five zones to stand for future presidential elections.

N Srinivasan, the outgoing president of the board, is from South Zone. As per the current rotational policy, it is East Zone?s turn to send a president when Srinivasan completes his term in 2014.

The changes, it is believed, is being brought to pave the way for BJP leader and Delhi District Cricket Association president Arun Jaitley ascension to the top of BCCI hierarchy. Without amendment to rotational policy clause, Jaitley would have to wait till 2014, when the North Zone?s turn comes to appoint a president.

"As per the existing rule, a president has to be from a particular zone whose turn it is by rotation to take over the presidentship. The change sought to be made at the SGM is that the future presidential candidate may belong to any of the five zones, but only needs to be proposed and seconded by the zone whose turn it is," newswire PTI quotes BCCI sources as saying.

The move will strengthen the control of policians in the world?s richest cricket board which has been grappling with charges of financial misconduct in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Earlier, Congress leader and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla was appointed as IPL chairman.

MUMBAI: Hockey India, the governing body of the sport in India, has roped in politicians and cricket administrators Rajeev Shukla and Arun Jaitley on board as members of Hockey India League, the club based league that will kick-off in January next year.

Apart from Shukla and Jaitley, Television personality and India TV Editor in Chief Rajat Sharma has also joined the board.

While Jaitley is vice-president of BCCI from North Zone, Shukla is the chairman of cash-rich Indian Premier League.

Hockey India secretary-general and HIL chairman Narinder Batra said the appointments would help HIL. "We are sure that the Hockey India League will gain from Mr. Shukla`s knowledge as chairman of the Indian Premier League Governing Council and in public life, Mr. Jaitley`s vast experience as lawyer and sports administrator and Mr. Rajat Sharma`s experience as a media personality," Batra said.

HI has already got Sahara India Pariwar on board as the Lucknow franchise owner.

The HIL, which will rival World Series Hockey, will have six city-based teams selected from a pool of 12 cities that have infrastructure and facilities to host a match.

MUMBAI: The Disciplinary Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come down heavily on the five players accused of indulging in malpractices.

The committee comprising N. Srinivasan, Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah has decided to debar T Sudhindra from playing any form of cricket for life. He will also not be entitled to any benefits extended by the BCCI or hold any position in any cricket association affiliated to the BCCI.

The Committee held Sudhindra guilty of actually receiving a consideration to spot-fix in a domestic cricket match, and hence imposed exemplary penalty on him.

The committee also held Shalabh Srivastava guilty of agreeing to fix a match and negotiate terms for the same, even though no actual match-fixing or spot fixing took place. He has been debarred for a period of five years, from playing any cricket matches besides withdrawing any benefits that domestic cricketers are entitled to.

Furthermore, the committee has barred Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali from playing any cricket matches for a period of one year.

The committee was of the view that the three players, through loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging, brought the game into disrepute, and hence, have been held guilty of the lesser offence.

The penalties will be effective from 15 May, the date of the suspension of the players.

The decision came after the committee‘s meeting to peruse the report of Ravi Sawani, the Commisioner of Inquiry. The Committee also accorded a personal hearing to T. Sudhindra, Abhinav Bali and Mohnish Mishra. Shalabh Srivastava and Amit Yadav pleaded their respective cases through teleconference.

Hindi news channel India TV had done a sting operation exposing corruption in the cash-rich IPL.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has ?wholeheartedly? welcomed the Amendments made in the half-century-old Copyright Act.

IBF applauded everyone who had been relentlessly working for the passage of the Copyright Amendment Bill, especially Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley.

IBF also expressed its gratitude to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni who had been instrumental in getting this historical bill passed by both houses of the Parliament.

The Amendments will benefit every creative person in India, be it an author, composer, writer, etc, who has hitherto been deprived of his/her due so far. With this Bill, the creator?s rights are upheld and respected and the amendments are a positive step in the right direction. It will beyond doubt help a large chunk of creative people in the country, where largest number of movies and television programmes are made.

IBF also welcomed the provision for statutory licensing for broadcasting organisations, noting that radio and television broadcasting were growing sectors in the country and are important medium to disseminate information, education, news, views and infotainment to the masses and the general public.

Programmes relating to music compositions, talent hunts, reality shows etc. had become quote popular on both radio and TV and involved the usage of songs and music in various ways.

Any copyright legislation needs to ensure that public interest is not compromised so far as ?public access? to information and entertainment in literary and musical works is concerned.

IBF states: "It is for serving this larger public interest of unhindered access to information in a smooth and non-discriminatory manner that Section 31D had been incorporated in the Act. It provides for the availability of content to any broadcasting organisation through the mechanism of Statutory Licensing on the payment of royalty determined by the Copyright Board which will fix separate rates for radio and TV."

The aim, IBF adds, is to ensure that the content becomes available to everyone desirous of the same without any discrimination and on reasonable royalties fixed by the Board, and at the same time ensuring the owners of copyright works do not suffer from any disadvantage.

The Copyright (Amendment) Bill ?has been and will be appreciated for the significant changes it will bring to the Broadcasting Industry as a whole.?