The information and broadcasting ministry on Friday urged broadcasters and producers of TV serials to clear payments to artistes.

The request comes after two TV actors — Manmeet Grewal and Preksha Mehta — allegedly committed suicide in the wake of the countrywide lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Grewal had been going through a financial crisis, according to his friends. Mehta had returned to her hometown Indore from Mumbai before the lockdown and was said to be depressed.

The letter has been sent to the News Broadcasters Association, Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Association of Regional TV Broadcasters of India and the Producers Guild of India.

The ministry, in its letter, said the pandemic had led to a financial downturn for a large number of sectors of the economy, including the broadcasting industry.

Prakash Javadekar, the minister of information and broadcasting, had an occasion to discuss the problems of the broadcasting sector with the major stakeholders, and the government is seized of their concerns, the letter said.

The Bureau of Outreach and Communication is working on a war footing for liquidating the pendency of advertisement bills of the media industry.