I&B Ministry
DPIIT issues clarification on 26% FDI in digital media
KOLKATA: While significant growth in media is coming from digital media consumption, the government amended the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy last year. As a part of the reform, it had announced an approval of 26 per cent FDI in digital media. However, there was a lack of clarity about the niggling details.
Mire than a year later, the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has thrown some further light on it:
The rule would apply to :
· Entities uploading/ streaming news and current affairs on websites, apps, other platforms;
· News agencies which supply news to digital media entities and/or news aggregators;
· News aggregators which, using software / web applications, aggregate content from various sources in one location.
These news organisations would be required to align their FDI to 26 per cent level with governmental the approval, within a year from today. To comply with the FDI policy, the majority of directors on the board of the company and CEO should be Indian citizens.
"Security nod must for foreign personnel deployed for more than 60 days in India if security nod for any foreign personnel gets denied, the employee has to resign/employment terminated," DPIIT said.
In this context, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has announced that it will consider in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to such entities also:
· PIB accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conference and such other interactions.
· Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail CGHS benefits and concessional rail fare as per the extant procedure.
· Eligibility for digital advertisements through Bureau of Outreach and Communication.
Moreover, MIB has suggested forming a similar self-regulating body in digital media like print and electronic media.
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.
