I&B Ministry
Improved tech & states role; curbs on Peace TVs, cable sans DD in new integrated policy: Naidu
NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu today laid emphasis for evolving a comprehensive “national information and communication policy” to provide citizens “enhanced access to information.”
Addressing the 28th state Information Ministers Conference (SIMCON) here, Naidu said the Centre and the states should work together in various areas, including in dissemination of effective information, to push integrated development.
“We need an integrated and holistic approach and coordination between the centre and states is essential,” Naidu said.
The meet was attended by minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore, secretary Ajay Mittal and other senior officials of the ministry apart from representatives of different states.
The proposed policy would be prepared in consultation with states in the spirit of cooperative federalism and the principle of Team India which the prime minister firmly believed in, Naidu added.
Elaborating on the proposed contours of the policy, Naidu said the broad objectives should be to enhance access to information and communication infrastructures and new technologies, especially in rural areas; to promote national dialogue on development issues by all citizens and facilitate informed participation of people in setting development agenda and its execution.
The policy should rationalise multi-sectoral investments in information and communication hardware and software through their consolidation and appropriate integration in development plans and planning structures; to ensure timely, orderly and effective growth of information and communication institutions and professions through standards setting, capacity building and human resource development; and broadly define the roles of different governments at various levels and other stakeholders.
It should preserve national cultural identity and enhance the development of cultural and artistic capabilities and institutions, while enabling productive regional and international exchanges and support national and local development initiatives, and to improve the quality of life of the people, by facilitating systematic and effective use and coordination of communication and information strategies and outcomes.
The challenge before such a policy was to analyse the ingredients of the communication environment including competencies and resources that are critical.
The minister further stated that the initiation of such a policy would integrate development communication, development agendas linking planners, beneficiaries and implementers of development actions. It was the endeavour of the proposed policy to make people informed participants in decision-making and development planning process. Such a communication approach also enabled policy makers to look at people as part of a solution.
Naidu said all-round and integrated development cannot materialise without effective dissemination of information. “People have the right to information,” he said.
While the country has evolved policies on various subjects like environment and health, there is no such policy for communication and information dissemination.
“The centre and the state should work together to evolve the communication policy,” he said, adding that Ajay Mittal and senior officials have been directed to work with the states to work on a draft policy at the earliest. “It should also work to preserve national cultural identity,” Naidu added.
Naidu said India has unique strength in its cultural richness and its heritage. “Any Tom, Dick and Harry came and conquered…They ‘might have’ robbed our wealth, but they could not take away our heritage,” he said.
Naidu referred to the prime minister Narendra Modi’s repeated emphasis on ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (development with all and development for all)’ and said even leaders such as B R Ambedkar and Deen Dayal Upadhyay had laid emphasis on the development of ‘Antyodhaya’ – the last man in the queue.
The minister said the states should take advantage of the reach of public broadcasters — All India Radio and Doordarshan, and give them “preferential treatment.” These organisations do not run with commercial considerations, he emphasised. He said that strict action should be taken against those cable operators who do not show DD News.
Naidu said with regard to violation of cable TV operators laws, the states should appoint designated officers in all districts to ensure that no major violation like the Peace TV episode is repeated. He would be writing to chief ministers again in this regard, the minister said. (‘Peace TV’ of Zakir Naik had allegedly telecast various programmes which instigated youths towards radical thinking.)
Speaking earlier, Mittal gave an overview of the deliberations of the first day’s meeting highlighting some of the key discussion points across sectors and suggestions received from the States. During the course of the deliberations, the separate wings of the ministry, films, broadcasting, information and Prasar Bharti (AIR & DD) made presentations regarding the policy initiatives and issues for discussions and convergence with states.
The minister also visited the various stalls and multimedia exhibitions showcased by the media units of the ministry namely, National Film Archives of India, which organised the multimedia exhibition on the theme ‘Azaadi 70 Saal- Yaad Karo Qurbani’. The exhibition showcases the film industry’s contribution to Independence and was organised to celebrate 70th year of India’s Independence. The three themes covered include ‘Rise and Revolt: Cinema of Social Reform’, ‘Our Freedom Fighters-Through the lens of Cinema’ and ‘Saluting our Soldiers’.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
