I&B Ministry
Former I&B minister Prasad shot at, attacker lynched
NEW DELHI: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former information and broadcasting minister Ravishanker Prasad was wounded in an attack by a lone gunman at an election meeting at Nokha in Bihar’s Rohtas district today.
The attack, which took place while Prasad was addressing an election meeting in the state, wounded him in the arm and the incensed crowd immediately turned on the as-yet unknown assailant, injuring him seriously. According to doctors, the attacker is presently in an unconscious state.
Prasad collapsed on the dais after the shooting, Press Trust of India, quoting official sources, said. The injured Prasad was immediately flown in a helicopter to Bihar’s state capital of Patna where he was admitted to a private nursing home.
The BJP, battling to regain some power in the near-lawless state of Bihar, could make this a plank during the forthcoming elections, scheduled to take place next month.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
