I&B Ministry
Broadcasters, teleports warned on forex payments without I&B permission
NEW DELHI: The government has warned broadcast companies and teleport operators who have obtained permission for services of foreign satellites without prior approval of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for remittance in foreign exchange of hiring charges which is mandatory under a circular of the Finance Ministry of September 2004.
Ministry joint secretary (Broadcasting) Supriya Sahu in an advisory reiterated the need and importance for seeking prior approval of the Ministry for making payments in foreign exchange towards hiring of transponders of foreign satellites and complying with the existing provisions of the Reserve Bank of India in this regard.
She stressed that the I&B Ministry is the administrative Ministry for granting permission to remittance of Forex for hiring charges of transponders on foreign satellites by TV channels/ teleports.
She said that in view of this, all broadcast companies and teleport operators are advised to strictly follow the guidelines under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. Any proposal seeking approval of the Ministry should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the date before which the payment is due.
She drew attention of the broadcasters to the Reserve Bank of India Circular of October 2004 wherein authorised dealer banks had been apprised that proposals for remittance of hiring charges of transponders by TV channels would require prior approval of the Ministry. The circular also stressed on the authorised dealer banks to bring the contents of the circular to the notice of their constituents and customers for ensuring compliance of the provision of the FEMA Act.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
