I&B Ministry
Downlink policy with cabinet; no debate yet
NEW DELHI: Finally the information and broadcasting ministry has taken the downlinking policy to the Cabinet that aims at having all TV channels beaming into India register with a designated authority here, apart from completing some other formalities.
The ministry, according to sources there, is playing it down as the issue could not be listed for at least the last meeting of the Cabinet, which was to meet today also. However, due to the demise of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao yesterday, today’s meeting has got truncated.
The downlink policy will willy-nilly give the government more control over TV channels pay or free to air.
Over a month back, information and broadcasting ministry Jaipal Reddy had said that the government was in the process of finalising a downlinking policy that is expected to look into issues such as allowing FII investment in news channels and making registration mandatory for foreign channels beaming into India.
At present only 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in TV news ventures and FIIs are out of the picture altogether. In order to have an effective control over channels beaming into India, but uplinking from abroad, the government will ask them to register themselves in India and set up an India office. This is expected to help it tackle issues such as adult content, especially on some fashion channels.
Though the government is keeping very quiet on the exact nature of the downlink policy that it’s seeking a nod from the Cabinet, sources in the ministry indicated that all channels beaming into India may soon have to open their profit and loss accounts and ownership patterns to the government or a regulatory body irrespective of the fact whether they are part of a private held company or a listed entity.
This, amongst others, is one of the major points of the downlink policy, which has been in the making for quite some time now.
With the cricket telecast rights issue almost making a habit of landing in the court — ESPN Star Sports is at present embroiled in one such controversy over Indian cricket team’s tour of Bangladesh — the Indian government would also make it mandatory for feeds of events of national importance to be given to pubcaster Doordarshan.
The list of events would be notified and will certainly include sports like cricket that has cult status in the country.
Needless to state that as and when this law is put into force, certain amendments would have to be made in existing rules like the Cable TV (Network) Regulation Act, 1995 and the DTH guidelines to accommodate the `must-provide’ clause, which is mainly aimed at benefiting DD.
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.
