I&B Ministry
FM Phase III auction postponed
NEW DELHI: The e-auctions in the second batch of FM Phase III, which completed its 24th day yesterday, will now resume on 9 December 2016.
The auction was not held on Tuesday, owing to the demise of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha as some bidders rushed back to Tamil Nadu.
The bidding has so far been somewhat slow, but Muzaffarpur has been the sole silver lining over the past week rising to more than Rs 33.7 million and thus also overtaking Mysuru which is still at Rs 32.1 million.
Hyderabad and Dehradun are still at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively, and there are still no bids for 44 cities and movement of just one or two cities in the bottom rung.
M/s South Asia FM Ltd has been declared as the winning bidder for five Radio FM channels, just a day after the commencement of the auction for the second batch of Phase III. The company will be allotted FM Channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
The first day of auction on 26 October saw a winning price of Rs 1820 milion against the aggregate price of Rs 1792 million, while the second day onwards the bidding has been low.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com’s sister concern radioandmusic.com that the aim was to continue till all the channels slated in the second batch were auctioned, but breaks will have to be taken for weekends and national holidays.
This data has been compiled on the basis of system generated “Final Round Result Report” and “Frequency Identification Report” accessible through auction administrator role.
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South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III
FM Phase III: Slump in auction, with sole exception of Muzaffarpur leaping to over Rs 33 million
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.
