AMRITSAR, July 16 — The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is still awaiting approval from the Union Government to launch a dedicated satellite channel for the live telecast of Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib, even after setting up its own studio infrastructure for the purpose.
At present, the SGPC broadcasts live Gurbani through its web channel and social media platforms, where its digital subscription base has crossed 11 lakh, and estimated viewership is said to be over 40 lakh. However, its reach remains limited in comparison to the wide viewership of various Hindu, Jain, Christian and other faith-based satellite channels that enjoy national and international visibility.
SGPC officials say their plan to launch a dedicated Gurbani satellite channel has been delayed by regulatory constraints and licensing issues. Shahbaz Singh, additional secretary of the SGPC, said the body needs uplink and downlink licenses from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, but the process is proving difficult.
“The licence fee is exorbitant, and under the SGPC’s constitutional mandate, we cannot earn from advertisements,” he explained.
A major hurdle, he noted, is that the Centre only permits registration of such channels under an individual’s name — a clause that conflicts with the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. “As per the Act, the SGPC cannot procure or subscribe to anything in the name of an individual. This has complicated the process,” Singh added.
The SGPC’s move to establish its own satellite platform followed the Punjab government’s successful passage of the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at ending PTC channel’s monopoly over live Gurbani telecast.
Under an 11-year agreement signed on July 24, 2012, with G-Next Media Pvt Ltd, the SGPC had been receiving Rs 2 crore annually from PTC, with a 10 percent yearly increment, for Gurbani telecast rights. However, since ending that arrangement, the SGPC has received no compensation and is now providing the Gurbani feed to PTC free of cost, due to lack of its own satellite infrastructure.
PTC, which continues to air Gurbani through its established network, is linked to the family of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. In the interim, the SGPC continues to rely on PTC’s upload infrastructure to transmit Gurbani.
Despite several proposals in the past, the SGPC has consistently refused to monetise its Gurbani content online, maintaining its principle of not commercialising religious broadcasts.
With regulatory roadblocks still unresolved, the SGPC’s vision of a fully independent, dedicated satellite channel for Gurbani remains in limbo — even as demand from the global Sikh community continues to grow.
