I&B Ministry
Day 19: Kohlapur inches towards Rs 10 crore mark in FM Phase III bidding
NEW DELHI: After nineteen days in the bidding for the first batch of FM Phase III cities, Kohlapur with a price of Rs 9.34 crore is now inching towards the Rs 10 crore mark.
Among cities recording more than Rs 10 crore, it rose marginally only in Nasik at Rs 14.66 crore. Moreover cities like Kanpur, Rajkot, Amritsar and Aurangabad are also not far behind.
However, interest appeared to be flagging with the cumulative provisional winning price rising very marginally to touch about Rs 1128 crore at the end of the 76th round on the nineteenth day.
With this, a total of 94 channels in 56 cities became provisional winning channels against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459 crore.
Thus the total bids of the provisional winning prices surpassed the cumulative reserve price of the corresponding 94 channels by Rs 669.24 crore or 145.8 per cent.
The cumulative provisional winning price has risen over the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities – Rs 550.18 crore – by Rs 577.92 crore or 105 per cent.
The Auction Activity Requirement rose to 100 per cent after the 59th round on 14 August, after being 90 per cent after the 37th round on 7 August.
As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, despite the slow down, as per Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources, the auction will continue as long as bids are received for any of the 135 channels.
Bids continued to elude thirteen cities for the nineteenth day today, with no takers for channels in Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal.
The demand in most cities fell by up to three per cent and by four per cent below the excess demand at the price in the 76th round in Hyderabad.
The Percentage Price Increment (in INR) applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to five each in Guwahati, Shillong and Varanasi but was just one in Jodhpur and Kolhapur.
The provisional winning price in the top three cities reflected no change: Delhi at Rs 1.69.16 crore (for just one channel); Mumbai at Rs 122.81 crore (for two channels); and Bengaluru at Rs 109.25 crore.
Chennai at Rs 53.38 crore, Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Pune at Rs 42.03 crore, Jaipur at Rs 28.34 crore, Chandigarh at Rs 19.04 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Cochin at Rs 15.04 crore and Lucknow at Rs 14 crore remained static.
I&B Ministry
Digital radio, D2M tech set to reshape broadcasting and public messaging
Govt pushes next-gen delivery while TRAI tightens grip on spam ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s broadcasting and telecom landscape is undergoing a quiet but significant upgrade, with digital radio and Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technologies emerging as powerful tools for mass communication, while regulators step up efforts to tackle spam calls.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, digital radio and D2M are poised to transform how content reaches audiences by making more efficient use of spectrum. In simple terms, multiple channels can now be delivered over a single frequency, opening the door to a wider range of free-to-air content.
D2M technology takes this a step further by enabling video, audio and data to be broadcast directly to mobile handsets without relying on SIM cards or mobile data. The result is a resilient and cost-effective data pipe that can deliver everything from entertainment and education to critical emergency alerts, even in low-connectivity scenarios.
At the same time, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is tightening its grip on unsolicited commercial communication, better known as spam calls. The regulator has deployed a distributed ledger technology platform to bring transparency and accountability into the system.
Through this blockchain-based setup, consumers can register their preferences on receiving promotional messages, while businesses and telemarketers must also sign up and operate within defined rules. The platform also includes a complaint mechanism that allows users to report spam, with complaints shared across telecom operators for coordinated action.
The government’s broader push is being supported by infrastructure upgrades under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development scheme. Implemented through Prasar Bharati, the initiative focuses on modernising networks such as Akashvani and Doordarshan, including digitisation and adoption of next-generation broadcast equipment.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan said these steps are part of a larger effort to promote emerging technologies and strengthen the country’s broadcasting backbone. The response came to a query raised by member of Parliament Rao Rajendra Singh.
Together, these developments point to a dual-track strategy: expanding access to reliable, low-cost content while cleaning up the communication ecosystem. As digital pipes get smarter and spam filters sharper, India’s airwaves may soon feel a lot less noisy and far more useful.
