I&B Ministry
News disallowed but advt terms relaxed for community radio
NEW DELHI: While holding that the grant of permission agreement will be extended for five years at a time for community radio stations, the government has said that the application will have to be submitted in the fourth year.
In relaxation of its Guidelines of 2006 to promote the growth in the sector, it was stated that the first extension shall be granted on the basis of an application and verification of adherence to the terms and conditions of the permission.
For second extension beyond 10 years, the continuous operation of CRS by the permission holder for 10 years will be treated as ground for extension. CRS should submit their application for extension of permission a year before end of the permission period.
Considering that there are less than 150 operational CRS even after more than a decade of launch of the scheme, the changes announced along with the funding scheme announced earlier this month would help the growth of this sector.
News and current affairs and programmes of current affairs which are political in nature will not be permitted. However, CRS can broadcast news and current affairs contents sourced exclusively from All-India Radio in its original form or translated into the local language/dialect. AIR shall source its news to CRS without any charge. It will be the responsibility of the CRS permission holder to ensure that the news is not distorted or edited during translation.
Another important relaxation is in terms of permitting additional categories that can come under non-news and current affairs broadcast.
These are:
(a) Information pertaining to sporting events excluding live coverage. However live commentaries of sporting events of local nature may be permissible;
(b) Information pertaining to traffic and weather;
(c) Information pertaining to and coverage of local cultural events, festivals;
(d) Coverage of topics pertaining to examinations, results, admissions, career counseling;
(e) Availability of employment opportunities;
(f) Public announcements pertaining to civic amenities like electricity, water supply, natural calamities, health alerts etc. as provided by the local administration;
(g) Such other categories not permitted at present that may subsequently be specifically permitted by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from time to time.
The additions also say that transmission of sponsored programmes shall not be permitted except programmes sponsored by Central and state governments and other organisations to broadcast public interest information.
Limited advertising and announcements up to a maximum of seven minutes per hour relating to local events, local businesses and services and employment opportunities will be allowed.
(In a related development, the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity deleted the empanelment condition that “Community Radio Stations will undertake in writing that DAVP approved rates accepted by them are their lowest rates and exclusive to DAVP and cannot be offered to any other agency”.)
The additions in the Guidelines further said: “In disaster situations, the District Magistrate’s permission shall be sufficient to relocate CRS. However, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should be informed of the change of place by both the CRS and District Magistrate.
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.
