iWorld
DTH business continues to see headwinds: Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal
MUMBAI: At Bharti Airtel’s fourth quarter 2022 results CEO Gopal Vittal noted that the DTH business continues to see headwinds.
During the company’s Q4 FY22 earnings conference call, Vittal said, “While the category continues to see a significant long-term opportunity for upgradation from cable, it’s also a classic case of an industry that has been brought to its knees due to excessive regulation”.
“The new tariff order brought about by TRAI a few years ago mandated every miniscule aspect of pricing in an industry which was managed until then very simply through forbearance. This created an overwhelming amount of complexity for the DTH players and even more importantly for the customer with no benefit to any stakeholder”, he further elaborated.
Vittal added, “The second aspect of skewed regulation is to do with the very same content being made available for free. This is what happens on free-to-air channels and there is, mind you, very good content in many cases here with just windowing or it is being made available on the same screen through a broadband pipe at unregulated prices. This is what happens on OTT platforms. As a result, the DTH industry has been crippled.”
“We are glad to see that TRAI has just come out with a new consultation paper on tariffs and we hope that at the end of this consultation, regulations will be lightened so that we can focus on what we do best, keep things simple and serve customers,” he added.
Further, talking about the results he said, “during the year the company added Rs 13,440 crores to the top line and just under Rs 8,150 crores of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to our India business alone. Beyond these numbers, what was even more satisfying is that we grew competitively in every part of our business; mobility, broadband, DTH and Airtel business grew market share to reach lifetime highs.”
Vittal also explained the reason behind increasing tariffs. “We challenged ourselves to find a way to expand the reach of our home broadband presence after Covid and cracked an extremely innovative partnership with thousands of local cable operators using our digital promise. We strengthened our portfolio in airtel business through innovations in cPaaS and Airtel Secure. We continue to invest over Rs 20,400 crores into CapEx across our network, data centers, submarine cable capacities, and digital. Finally, we strengthened our partnerships. Use Airtel JV, the investment into level for SD-WAN, which is a software-defined wide-area network, for blockchain, Oracle for data centers, and Google as a strategic equity partner,” he added.
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Govt pushes live events sector to Rs 196 billion by 2028
LEDC roadmap targets 15–20 million jobs and global hub status by 2030
MUMBAI: India’s live events story is getting louder and this time, it’s policy turning up the volume. The fourth meeting of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC), chaired by Chanchal Kumar, was held on 30 April 2026 at Vigyan Bhavan, bringing together representatives from nine Central Ministries, six States and 12 industry stakeholders to chart the sector’s next phase of growth. The numbers already tell a compelling story. India’s organised live events industry was valued at Rs 145 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at 10 per cent to Rs 196 billion by 2028 making it one of the fastest-expanding segments within the media and entertainment ecosystem.
Set up in July 2025 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the LEDC is tasked with turning that momentum into a structured growth engine. Its long-term ambition is ambitious, position India as a global live events hub by 2030 while generating an additional 15–20 million jobs.
At the meeting, officials emphasised the sector’s multiplier effect spanning tourism, employment and allied industries while underlining the need for coordinated execution. A key update was the rollout of a single-window clearance system for live event permissions via the India Cine Hub portal, aimed at simplifying approvals and improving transparency.
States have been urged to adopt the system, alongside implementing the “Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026” by 31 May 2026. The framework seeks to standardise what has long been a fragmented and time-consuming regulatory process.
Beyond permissions, the discussion also turned to infrastructure and talent. A draft concept for greenfield venue development was tabled, alongside plans to build a skilled workforce. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication, in collaboration with industry bodies MESC and EEMA, is set to introduce certificate courses tailored to the live events sector.
Chanchal Kumar stressed that alignment across stakeholders is already in place, with the next challenge being execution at scale. The government, he noted, remains committed to creating a facilitative and transparent ecosystem for organisers.
For an industry once seen as fragmented and event-driven, the message is clear, India’s live events business is no longer just about the show, it’s about building an entire stage for growth.
