NEW DELHI: The government could disallow controversial ‘zero rating’ plans floated by companies in its final policy on net neutrality but could make an exemption for delivery of essential government services such as education and health on a preferential basis.“Zero rating plans that involve commercial arrangements at the back-end violate the idea of net neutrality as they seem to provide discriminatory access to certain apps,” a senior telecom department official told ET.The telecom department has set up an six-member committee headed by Member Technology AK Bhargava, which has to submit a report on net neutrality by the end of the month.The committee is yet to submit its final recommendation but an official aware of its thinking told ET that the members broadly concur on the definition of net neutrality in the Indian context. The committee’s current thinking is that any definition of net neutrality must maintain core principles, which is not to allow blocking, prioritisation and throttling of content providers on a network.“However, it is of the view that the definition (of net neutrality) should not be at cross-purposes with the government’s policy,” another official told ET. The upshot is that essential services such as e-governance, as envisaged in the ‘Digital India’ plan, should be delivered on a preferential basis to end-users. “The policy will allow for positive discrimination,” the person added.The telecom commission will examine the report along with recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the subject before it finalises its stand. The final policy will then be vetted by the telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad According to sources, the DoT committee , set up in January this year, has met over 45 organisations including Facebook Google , Flipkart, Amazon, Cleartrip, Paytm, Viber and Skype , apart from telecom service providers and various public interest groups in the last few months. “A few members of the committee have so far made a presentation to the telecom minister explaining rules on net neutrality worldwide,” the person added.Some members of the committee feel that the so-called zero rating plans amount to negative discrimination. “If an internet service provider or a telecom operator starts sending alerts that a website you are about to access will be charged but a rival website can be browsed free of cost, it is negative discrimination.This way certain websites or apps will not be able to develop or grow big,” the first person said, explaining why zero rating plans could be disallowed.Recently Bharti Airtel ’s Airtel Zero— under which certain apps can be accessed by users free of charge — and internet. org, an initiative by Facebook that has a tie-up with Reliance Communications, have come under scrutiny for allegedly violating net neutrality. This is because the apps which are free to their users have an advantage over those which are not.Meanwhile, Trai is in the middle of its consultation process on net neutrality. It has already completed the process of receiving comments and counter-comments from the public and will now hold an open house before the authority firms up its recommendations on net neutrality.Telecom minister Prasad has made it abundantly clear that the government is in favour of net neutrality. Last week, while addressing Parliament he said the government is in favour of ensuring nondiscriminatory access to the Internet for all citizens of the country.