I&B Ministry
Provisions to deal with errant broadcasting sectors considered adequate: Rathore
NEW DELHI: The Government considers the existing provisions under various policy guidelines of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting are considered adequate as far as the electronic media goes.
The permission of 73 TV channels has been cancelled till date for violating the provisions of Uplinking Guidelines, the Rajya Sabha has been told.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said 24 FM Channels of 6 Private Broadcasters have been revoked for violation of provisions of the Grant of Permission Agreement (GoPA) signed by them with Government under the FM Radio Phase-II regime.
All the registered agencies mentioned above under print, audio and visual media are required to abide by the rules and regulations prescribed under various policy guidelines of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
He said the country at present has 892 permitted Private Satellite TV channels registered in the country, as on 30 June.
A total of 42 Private FM Radio Broadcasters have been granted permission to establish, operate and maintain private FM Radio Stations in the country.
More than a decade after the scheme was launched, only 196 Community Radio Stations are operational in the country.
The Press in India 2014-15 published by the Office of Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), shows as many as 1,05,443 publications, having different periodicities are registered with RNI, as on 31 March 2015.
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.
