I&B Ministry
Issue on surrogate advertising of liquor brands in print media pending with I&B Ministry
NEW DELHI: There have been nine complaints including four in the electronic media since 2011 relating to advertisements of tobacco and liquor, Parliament was told today.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said warnings were issued to two channels – ET Now and Star Cricket in 2012 and an advisory was issued to FTV in January last year, all relating to liquor advertisements.
In the fourth case, the advertisement being aired on several channels in 2011 was taken off after an advisory by the Advertising Standards Council of India.
While four cases were closed by the Press Council of India with regard to the print advertisements, one matter relating to surrogate advertisements has been under the consideration of the government since March 2013.
The Press Council of India has formulated ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ for adherence by the media and the relevant norm 36(ii) relating to ‘Advertisements’ prescribes that no advertisement shall be published, which promotes directly or indirectly production, sale or consumption of cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor and other intoxicants. The PCI takes cognizance, suo motu or on complaints, of the contents in print media which are in violation of the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’.
In so far as private satellite TV channels are concerned, all advertisements telecast on such channels are regulated in accordance with the Advertising Code prescribed in Rule 7 of the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994. As per Rule 7(2)(viii)(A) thereof, no direct or indirect advertisements of liquor or tobacco products are permissible on TV channels. The detailed provisions of the Rule are available on Ministry of Information and Broadcasting website www.mib.nic.in.
An Inter-Ministerial Monitoring Committee has been constituted in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to monitor misleading advertisements appearing in print and other outdoor media.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
