I&B Ministry
FM migration fee submission date extended, Phase I kept out of migration
NEW DELHI: Existing operators of Phase II FM Radio wanting to migrate to Phase III have been asked to deposit 25 per cent of the non-refundable one-time entry fee (NOTMF) by 5 October.
Accepting a demand by Phase II FM operators for extension of time, the Government said that the balance will have to be paid by 15 October instead of the previous deadline of 1 October.
However, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry made it clear that the option of migration only applied to Phase II operators and not Phase I operators.
It also said that the migration fee had been fixed according to the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India of 20 February this year.
As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, each channel in Mumbai, which falls under the ‘A’ plus category will have to pay Rs 36.69 crore to the Ministry, while each channel from category ‘D’ city – Aizawl will have to shell out Rs 0.12 crore.
This means that from Mumbai, the Ministry will receive a total of approximately Rs 256.83 crore, considering there are seven stations- Radio City, Red FM, Fever FM, Big FM, Radio One, Radio Mirchi and Oye FM.
The second highest pay-out will come from New Delhi, which will pay Rs 33.33 crore per channel, which means that all the stations together will contribute about Rs 266.64 crore.
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.
