The minister said that it is better to delay the procedure than to take corrective measures afterwards.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi has said that private FM stations will not be allowed to broadcast news and current affairs programmes for at least two to three years.
He said that a fresh look will be taken on the issue after observing the content being broadcast by these channels.
"Let us first wait and see what content would be offered by these stations for the next two to three years and then we will think about the next step," Munshi said.
"It is better to delay it so that nothing wrong goes on air rather than trying to control the damage afterwards," he added.
He said that news broadcast on radio is considered to be the last word and has unmatched credibility. Therefore, it has to be seen that the news is correct and does not provoke any section of the society.
"We cannot compare ourselves with any other country in the world when it comes to radio. Nowhere in the world do we have radio channels in so many languages and dialects," the minister said.
Asked how would the content on private FM stations be monitored, Das Munshi said that a content monitoring mechanism will be evolved for the private stations.
This will not be done by the government, but instead would be handed over to the players themselves, and government will step in only if there is a violation of the mechanism.