I&B Ministry
142 MSOs get 10 year DAS licence for specified areas, 26 denied permission
NEW DELHI: A total of 11 multi-system operators (MSOs) from all over the country have been granted permanent registration for 10 years to operate the digital addressable system (DAS) during the last two months, bringing the total number of registered MSOs to 142 as compared by 131, as on 7 November.
Most of these MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier.
The MSOs who have received permission after the last list released of 7 November are Karuvai Communications for DAS areas in Tamil Nadu, Ajana Cable Network for DAS notified area of phase III in Vaijapur, Aurangabad in Maharashtra, New Peime Network DAS notified in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli Garhwal, and Uttarkashi Districts in Uttarakhand; Jai Mata Di Cable Network for DAS notified areas in Mehendergarh, Rewari, Bhiwani & Jhajjar District of Haryana and Alwar & Jhunjhnu Districts of Rajasthan; Onsky Technology for PAN India; Space Television Network for DAS notified area in Municipal Council of Greater Mumbai in phase I and rest of Maharashtra in phase III; Haldwani Digital Services for the State of Uttarakhand; V. R. Cable for the cities of Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Chennai in Tamil Nadu; Satellite Cable Communication for phase II, III, and IV areas in Pune District and Nasik District; R.D Cable Network for DAS notified area in Canacona, Quepem, Sanguem and Salcettte in Goa; the Orugallu Communications for DAS notified areas under Phase II, III and IV in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana;
The list of MSOs who have been refused permission has gone up to 26 from the earlier figure of 22 with four MSOs being denied permission. Some of those in the cancelled list applied as early as March 2013.
MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.
The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.
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.
