I&B Ministry
Enhanced reach & instant dissemination on social media impacts content quality
NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said on 19 March that the enhanced reach and instant dissemination on social media had impacted the content style and precision of both photography and videography.
This had led to instant communication across different social media platforms, he said while inaugurating the first National Photography and Videography Workshop organized at the National Media Centre here.
Rathore said that the Ministry would explore the possibility of organizing similar workshops in other parts of the country including the North East wherein the potential was tremendous as the initiative was innovative in approach involving the professionals associated from the concerned domains.
The workshop would also act as a facilitating tool in carrying forward the messages of the Government across platforms accessed by different cross sections of the population. As technology was the principal driver of innovation, it had become a critical determinant and catalyst in enhancing the skills of the individual and organization.
The impact of the dynamic growth of technology was self- evident as there was a proliferation of changes across formats. The enhanced reach, instant dissemination on social media had impacted the content style and precision of both, photography and videography. This had led to instant communication across different social media platforms.
The government is keen to fulfil the aspirations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose emphasis has been on upgradation of skills through appropriate training methods and tools. The workshop was designed keeping in mind the basic parameters of the ‘Skill India’ initiative. Relying on the basic principles and outline of the ‘Skill India’ initiative, the workshop was an attempt to hone the skills of Government personnel associated with photography and videography.
Speaking on the craft and art of photography, Rathore said that like any other art photography and videography could be mastered through right inputs. The workshop was an appropriate tool in this direction.
Recounting the history of photography, Rathore mentioned that pictures had a long lasting impact. Today historic occasions were remembered on several instances only through pictographic description. This was perhaps the reason for the immense popularity of ‘Coffee Table Books’ on different subjects.
Earlier, I&B secretary Bimal Julka said the workshop had been designed to address the immense skill opportunities that had emerged in the media and entertainment sector. As ‘Skill Development’ was a comprehensive approach involving critical stakeholders in the Government, the endeavor of the Ministry was to incorporate the ‘Skill India’ initiative across its training programmes. The workshop also provided a platform for the Government to converge its expertise and skills, keeping in mind the challenges of assignments, events in the media space dominated by social media, emerging technologies and competitive environment.
Julka mentioned that as key programmes and initiatives of the Ministry involved technological prowess and a thorough understanding of contemporary changes, the Workshop was certainly a step in the right direction.
He specifically highlighted the role and relevance of the workshop in the context of the archival heritage of the Ministry across platforms. It was for this purpose that an attempt had been made to bring together different aspects of technology for both, the photography and video segment. For this purpose, professional agencies specializing in digital technology, animation and graphics had been invited to provide value addition to the personnel associated from Photo Division and Doordarshan.
The key highlight of the workshop was the Joint Session on the History of Art and Appreciation of Photography addressed by eminent photographer Rajesh Bedi and renowned cinematographer Santosh Sivan. Both shared their experiences involving the critical themes with regard to content presentation, layout, use of technology etc.
The one-day workshop had been organised with two parallel sessions being held concurrently on Photography and Videography. The parallel sessions have been organised keeping in mind the common themes and integration between platforms and the need of skills / tools and contemporary development in both the sectors. Approximately 25 organisations / Ministries are attending the workshop. Over 135 officers participated in the Workshop.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
