RAS question
BARC, directed to suspend TRP ratings for news channels, stands for:
Correct answer: (C) Broadcast Audience Research Council.
BARC stands for Broadcast Audience Research Council, the industry-led body associated with television audience measurement and TRP ratings in India.
Explanation
BARC expands to Broadcast Audience Research Council. BARC is associated with measuring television viewership through TRP ratings, and the PIB release discusses India’s policy guidelines for television rating agencies. In its background section, the release says TRAI had recommended self-regulation through an industry-led body, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). BARC operates within the wider television-rating framework: rating agencies were expected to follow rules on registration, audience-measurement methodology, audits, disclosure and complaint redressal. BARC is not a government authority or a regulation committee; it is the named industry-led council connected with India’s TV rating system.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) BARC is a council, not a Broadcasting Authority, and Ministry guidelines formed the regulatory framework for rating agencies.
- (B) Broadcast Audience Research Council is an industry-led council for audience research, not a bureau for communication.
- (D) India’s television-rating framework involved guidelines and rating agencies, while BARC stands for Broadcast Audience Research Council rather than Broadcast and Audience Regulation Committee.
Concept
Media regulation and public-institution governance in India include the measurement and oversight of TRP ratings. Such abbreviations recur in RAS because current-affairs preparation often links regulatory developments with institution identification.