I&B Ministry
FM Phase III Day 5: Delhi crosses Rs 100 crore as total bids touch Rs 714 crore
NEW DELHI: Even as twenty rounds of FM Phase III e-auction ended with four more rounds today, the provisional winning price for one channel in Delhi crossed the Rs 100 crore mark.
The bidding for this one channel in Delhi got Provisional winning price of Rs 105.23 crore, which is more than three times its reserve price of Rs 31.42 crore.
At the close of the fifth day of bidding, 80 channels in 55 cities became provisionally winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of around Rs 714 crore against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 391 crore.
Thus the summation of provisional winning prices exceeded the total reserve price of the first batch by about Rs 163.48 crore or 29.71 per cent. The total reserve price of the first batch of 135 channels in the existing 69 cities is Rs 550.18 crore.
The fifth day of the e-auction was hectic but there were still no bids in as many as 14 cities though the provisional winning price steadied at the Clock round Price in the other cases.
The Auction began for the fifth day with Auction Activity Requirement set at 80 per cent.
The demand over the price in many cities fell by up to three per cent below the aggregate demand.
The Percentage Price Increment (in INR) applicable for the Next Clock Round was five in the metros of Delhi and Mumbai, and in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Rourkela, Jaipur, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nasik, Patna, and Rajkot and eight per cent in Bhubaneswar.
The highest Provisional winning price – the same as the Clock round price at the start of the twentieth round – was in Delhi – Rs 105.23 crore followed by Mumbai – Rs 82.72 crore with both showing sizeable increase compared to the first three days.
Among cities recording more than Rs 10 crore, it rose sizeably in Bengaluru – Rs 54.58 crore; Ahmedabad – Rs 30.33 crore; Pune – Rs 29.11 crore and Chennai – Rs 29.82 crore and marginally in Chandigarh at Rs 15.92 crore.
Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Lucknow at Rs 14 crore and Cochin at Rs 10.21 crore remained static.
I&B Ministry
Digital radio, D2M tech set to reshape broadcasting and public messaging
Govt pushes next-gen delivery while TRAI tightens grip on spam ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s broadcasting and telecom landscape is undergoing a quiet but significant upgrade, with digital radio and Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technologies emerging as powerful tools for mass communication, while regulators step up efforts to tackle spam calls.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, digital radio and D2M are poised to transform how content reaches audiences by making more efficient use of spectrum. In simple terms, multiple channels can now be delivered over a single frequency, opening the door to a wider range of free-to-air content.
D2M technology takes this a step further by enabling video, audio and data to be broadcast directly to mobile handsets without relying on SIM cards or mobile data. The result is a resilient and cost-effective data pipe that can deliver everything from entertainment and education to critical emergency alerts, even in low-connectivity scenarios.
At the same time, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is tightening its grip on unsolicited commercial communication, better known as spam calls. The regulator has deployed a distributed ledger technology platform to bring transparency and accountability into the system.
Through this blockchain-based setup, consumers can register their preferences on receiving promotional messages, while businesses and telemarketers must also sign up and operate within defined rules. The platform also includes a complaint mechanism that allows users to report spam, with complaints shared across telecom operators for coordinated action.
The government’s broader push is being supported by infrastructure upgrades under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development scheme. Implemented through Prasar Bharati, the initiative focuses on modernising networks such as Akashvani and Doordarshan, including digitisation and adoption of next-generation broadcast equipment.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan said these steps are part of a larger effort to promote emerging technologies and strengthen the country’s broadcasting backbone. The response came to a query raised by member of Parliament Rao Rajendra Singh.
Together, these developments point to a dual-track strategy: expanding access to reliable, low-cost content while cleaning up the communication ecosystem. As digital pipes get smarter and spam filters sharper, India’s airwaves may soon feel a lot less noisy and far more useful.
