News channels like Star TV, Zee TV and CNBC will not be eligible to uplink from India with their existing equity structure.

The Cabinet on Tuesday set a 26 per cent foreign investment cap on television news channels seeking to uplink from the country.

The ceiling would include foreign direct investment, foreign institutional investment, external borrowings and investment by non-resident Indians, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

However, the Cabinet has allowed channels like Zee TV, which uplinks from India, and CNBC, which uses a very small aperture terminal, to restructure their capital base within a year from the new guidelines being issued.

Star TV, which has proposed to start its news channel from April 1 through a wholly owned subsidiary, will have to apply afresh with a domestic partner having a 74 per cent stake.

The company's chief executive officer, Peter Mukerjea, however, said: "We have to understand the implication of the Cabinet decision. We can officially comment only after we are clear on the issue."

An NDTV executive said the foreign institutional investment holding in the company that would launch a Hindi channel was well below the permissible 26 per cent.

A government official said the foreign holding cap would be applicable to regional entertainment channels airing news or current affairs capsules.

These companies will have the option to restructure their capital base according to the new guidelines within a year.

Seven news channels, including Star TV, BBC, NDTV's English and Hindi news channels, Aaj Tak's English channel and Independent News Service are awaiting a policy on news channel uplinking to start operations.

G Krishnan, chief executive officer of TV Today Network, which runs the Aaj Tak channel, said: "We do not see a problem and our project is on track. The foreign investment component in our company is only 6 per cent, which makes us eligible to uplink from the country."

Following an application by Star TV for uplinking from India, BBC and CNBC also made similar requests, which are awaiting approval.

The ministry of information and broadcasting took the proposal to the Cabinet since it was felt that there was a need for broader consensus, especially since foreign holding in the print media (news and current affairs) had been restricted to 26 per cent.