I&B Ministry
Creation of good content vital with advent of new media: Rathore
NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore said today that the challenge as well as the opportunity would be to develop content and services for different platforms and consumers in view of the rapid changes in the information and communication technology and increasing number of smartphone users in India.
He said the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati was aware of the new challenges and would be constantly striving to keep pace with the new age technologies. The Minister also said the laws of the land should learn to keep pace with changing technology.
He complimented the Broadcast Engineering Society (BES) for their efforts and initiatives in bridging the gap between educational institutions and professional bodies.
Inaugurating the 22nd International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting BES EXPO 2016, he said it provided a unique platform and opportunity for participants and concerned stakeholders from across the world to share their ideas and experiences on the opportunities and challenges of the new age of digital broadcasting. He said that an idea would not be revolutionary if it remains dormant and BES EXPO 2016 provided an excellent forum to discuss these ideas and learn from each other.
Prasar Bharati Chairman A. Surya Prakash, CEO Jawhar Sircar, and I&B Special Secretary J S Mathur were also present on the occasion.
Mathur said BES EXPO, which is amongst the top five exhibitions in the Knowledge Hub category provided an excellent opportunity for the whole of the broadcasting industry to witness the new technology from across the world in India.
The winners of the awards instituted by the Broadcast Engineering Society in various categories such as training and innovation were felicitated.
The lifetime achievement award was conferred on M S H Baig for his outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry. This year the society also conferred two special category awards to All India Radio for its Mobile App- ‘AIR Live’ and Doordarshan for its impactful coverage of Republic Day Parade, Independence Day, International Yoga Day and Ekta Diwas.
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.
