I&B Ministry
DAS deadline extended to December 2015
NEW DELHI: The deadline for the digitisation of cable television systems in the entire country has been put off to December 2015.
While Phase I of digital addressable system (DAS) came into effect in March last year and Phase II later in the year, the entire process was supposed to be completed by December this year.
Information & Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka speaking exclusively to indiantelevision.com said that the government had decided to delay the digitisation deadline by a full year in order to give all those involved enough opportunity to overcome all the unseen hurdles that had come up after the UPA government mandated DAS and the various analogue sunset dates.
He said that the previous UPA government had failed to complete all the required work with regard to regulations, licences, permissions etc and so the current NDA government’s I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar – after consulting all the stakeholders – has decided to put off the final date by one year.
Julka was confident that digitisation would be completed well before the end of 2015, but said the new last date had been set keeping in mind the various issues that need resolution.
Earlier, the Ministry had said Phase III covering all urban areas (Municipal Corporations/Municipalities) would be digitised by 30 September 2014 and Phase IV covering the rest of India would be digitised by 31 December 2014.
The DAS process had led to several problems including court cases in various parts of the country. In the first phase for the four metros, Chennai could not be covered because of a stay by the Madras High Court. The second phase covered 38 cities with populations of more than one million. However, reports say that analogue systems are still working not only in the metros but also in these cities.
Furthermore, cable operators feel that the set top boxes being imported are of inferior quality with very few facilities for servicing. The MSOs went to the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging the ratio of profit sharing between the various stakeholders. And TDSAT has been flooded with litigation involving broadcasters, MSOs, LCOs and DTH operators over the past year and a half – coinciding with the government’s thrusting digitisation down the throats of those involved in India’s relatively unorganised cable TV ecosystem.
Julka said that all these issues had been taken into consideration before taking the decision to put off DAS by a year.
I&B Ministry
MIB blocks MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro and three other OTT platforms over obscene, sexually explicit content
Platforms streamed material violating IT Act provisions
NATIONAL: India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry blocked five over-the-top streaming platforms for allegedly hosting obscene and sexually explicit content, marking a fresh escalation in regulatory action against digital services operating outside the country’s content rules, as per media reports.
The platforms, MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu, were found to be streaming material that prima facie violates provisions of the Information Technology Act and rules governing online publishers.
Blocking orders were issued under statutory powers that allow the government to restrict access to online content in the interest of public order and decency. Internet service providers have been directed to disable access to the websites and mobile applications linked to the platforms.
The move forms part of a wider surveillance drive by the ministry targeting lesser-known and unregulated streaming services that allegedly evade self-regulatory obligations applicable to OTT platforms. Officials said the action followed repeated advisories urging compliance with Indian laws, including age-based classification, grievance redressal mechanisms and restrictions on explicit material.
Government sources described the content hosted by the blocked platforms as “highly explicit”, adding that it crossed legal thresholds permitted under Indian law. While large OTT players operate within a three-tier grievance redressal framework introduced in 2021, smaller apps have increasingly drawn scrutiny for distributing adult content without oversight.
The latest action also reflects heightened enforcement against platforms operating through mirror websites, offshore hosting arrangements or opaque ownership structures. Authorities have in recent years stepped up monitoring of online curated content amid concerns around obscenity, misleading promotions and unlawful distribution.
Officials declined to say whether further steps, including probes into operators, payment gateways or production entities, were being considered. However, sources indicated that additional platforms could face similar action if found in breach of the law.
