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New Delhi, March 27: A perceived disquiet in drawing rooms has forced the government to crack the whip on vulgarity on television.

As a first step, the licence of Cineworld, a little-known television channel, has been revoked for a month for showing films that border on pornography.

Last week, the information and broadcasting ministry had also sent a notice to India TV for airing shots of small-time Bihar politicians caught in what officials dub ?compromising situations?.

This was shown on the channel before the ?sting? operation on actors Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma.

Information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy has time and again said he is opposed to any kind of censorship of news, but pressure from women?s groups and teachers has compelled the government to crack down on obscenity and vulgarity on television.

?Through this action, which is the first of its kind, the ministry has come down strongly on those purveying obscenity, and this can include cable operators as well,? I&B secretary Navin Chawla told PTI.

?The government is serious on this issue and would keep a close watch on channels engaging in such activities,? Chawla added.

Cineworld has been told that if it continued showing obscene films on the channel, its licence would be terminated. Officials of Cineworld could not be contacted for comment.

Ministry officials are also unhappy with India TV for repeated airing of the Shakti Kapoor tapes.

However, India TV said today such programmes would be its ?mainstay in the future?. Asked whether the channel will carry out more sting operations, India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma said: ?Investigative journalism as well as interactive TV will be our forte.?

I&B officials hastened to add that the government is not against journalists carrying out sting operations and investigations, but everything should be done in a decent manner.

The government has already prepared a draft bill to bring in a regulatory authority to monitor television and deal with the problems of violence, vulgarity and ethics in broadcasting. Reddy has said that the regulatory authority will be a quasi-judicial body.

Akhila Sivadas, who is associated with the Centre for Advocacy and Research and has taken part in a round-table called by the ministry last month, said all players had decided on self-regulation.

The meeting was called by Reddy to ask television companies, cable operators, teachers and media advocacy groups to discuss the problems of sex and violence on television.

?We had agreed on self-regulation, and the government has said it would not step in. But all sides must keep their promise. I just hope the government?s action does not mean that it will step in every time.

?It is for the channels to ensure that they do not give the government this opportunity by honouring their commitment to promote nothing that would cross the limits of decency and good taste,?? Sivadas said.

She felt that it was important for a regulator to be put in place as soon as possible to deal with the problem.