India, Sept. 23 -- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a draft amendment to its broadcasting rules that could significantly change how television distributors are audited and how shared systems are managed. Under the new proposal, audits will be aligned with the financial year, from April to March, rather than the earlier calendar year (January to December) system, and reports for the previous year must be shared with broadcasters by September 30.

For the first time, smaller distributors with 30,000 or fewer subscribers may opt out of the annual audit, although broadcasters will still have the right to request one if they suspect irregularities.

"Further DPOs [distribution platform operators] with significantly...