I&B Ministry
Parliamentary panel pans DD, AIR for recurring lapses
NEW DELHI: Expressing disappointment that both, All-India Radio and Doordarshan, failed to use the amounts allocated under the budget for 2016-17, a Parliamentary Committee stated: “Concrete steps may be taken to resolve all longstanding administrative issues.”
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, which also examines issues relating to the information and broadcasting ministry, recommended that Doordarshan and All-India Radio need to make sincere and sustained efforts in creating high-quality content that can connect with people coupled with strong marketing strategy.
Need to address recurring structural and procedural issues
Keeping in view the financial performance of AIR and DD during 2016-17, the Committee stated that it was inclined to conclude that the under-utilisation of funds could have been avoided had the Ministry addressed the recurring structural and procedural issues.
The Committee felt that this has reflected poorly on the overall performance of Prasar Bharati which is also evident from the reduced fund allocation for both, AIR and DD in 2017-18.
To boost the performance of AIR and Doordarshan, the administrative problems as well as implementation related issues need to be resolved on priority. The Committee are of the firm opinion that unless these administrative and implementation related issues are addressed on priority, there is bleak scope for desired performance in the spheres of AIR and Doordarshan.
Emphasis on promotion of DD/AIR Archives
It noted that both AIR and DD have rich archives including biographies and old speeches of eminent persons which should be made use for qualitative content.
Apart from generating revenue for Prasar Bharati, this will motivate young generation and expose them to the rich heritage of the country.
AIR financial and physical performance
The Committee noted that All India Radio had has been able to spend Rs 1.0827 billion which was only 61.17% of the allocated fund of Rs 1.77 billion at Budgetary Estimates and Revised Estimates stage for the year 2016-17.
The Committee noted that for the year 2017-18, the budgetary allocation for AIR has been reduced from Rs 1.77 billion to Rs 1.54 billion
The Ministry attributed improper response against major tenders, delay in delivery of a major imported consignment and some other administrative reasons for this under-utilisation. The Ministry said there had been acute shortage of staff in AIR at all levels particularly at middle and lower professional levels; and the transition from Government organization to corporate sector has witnessed almost a complete halt on recruitments, training and promotions.
As far as acquisition of land for new setups is concerned, the Ministry proposes taking up the matter with respective state Governments for speedy disposal of the issues. The Ministry have also apprised that some Schemes are not implemented in time due to local issues including law and order particularly in the north east regions and border areas.
However, AIR has increased the total number of transmitters from 432 (MW-148, SW-48, FM-236) as on 31 March 2012 to 610 (MW-143, SW-48, FM-419) which include 195 100 W FM Transmitters as on 10 February 2017.
DD financial and physical performance
Similarly, Doordarshan has spent only Rs 1.7655 billion which is only 65% of the allocated fund of Rs. 2.73 billion at BE and RE stage for 2016-17.
As a result, the allocation for Doordarshan has been reduced from Rs 2.21 billion to Rs 2.13 billion
The Ministry has cited cancellation of tenders due to administrative/technical issues to be the reasons for this under-utilisation.
Doordarshan during 2016-17 completed technical facility for launch of the new TV Channel “DD Arun Prabha”; placed orders for implementation of Indian CAS (iCAS); for its DTH platform Free Dish; the Multichannel Automated Playback facility set up and installation of Multi Camera Studio Production facility in HDTV format are in progress at Central Production Centre in Delhi; the old ageing HPT replaced by new 10 KW HPT at one location; and completed all towers of Prasar Bharati House. (In fact, Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan are now housed in the same premises.)
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.
