News Broadcasting
Former I&B Secretary proposes fresh study into ad cap
NEW DELHI: It’s been a month and more since former Information & Broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma relinquished his post to Bimal Jhulka. But you can’t get broadcasting out of Varma’s blood. After all he and his team in the I&B almost single handedly forced a fragmented cable TV sector and a disbelieving television ecosystem to follow the government mandate for digitsation.
Now the former secretary has proposed that with the onset of digitisation, it is possible for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to get all the data needed for a fresh look at the 12 minute ad cap which the regulator had mandated earlier this year.
Uday Kumar Varma
Speaking exclusively to indiantelevision.com Varma said that the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has stayed the implementation of the ad cap on news channels, and the TRAI should use this time to conduct a study on how much time is being devoted to advertising by the various television channels and determine how much can and should actually be devoted by them. He stated that the regulator should be able to complete a thorough study in two or three months.
Varma said that while the ad cap was sought to be enforced in view of the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995, the situation had changed considerably since with a much larger number of television channels than previously anticipated.
He felt the 12-minute ad cap was in any case arbitrary as it was based on the experiences in other countries rather than in the Indian context.
He agreed that there were some channels – particularly regional language ones – which aired up to 30 minute per hour of ads, but pointed out that the new regime under digitisation afforded TRAI the freedom to study the issue afresh.
He said a method had to be found to enforce whatever ad cap is decided upon finally, since many channels are not members of either the News Broadcasters Association or the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. Even otherwise, he said all broadcasters were not on the same page on this issue.
Asked about the demand that the ad cap be put off to December 2014 by when the entire country would have gone digital, Varma declined to comment as he said the matter was before the TDSAT.
Merger of Phase III and IV of DAS
On the topic of the merger of Phase III and IV of the digitisation process, Varma said it had been found this would work better since towns and rural areas in these two phases come under the jurisdiction of district collectors, and management would be easier.
The merger would also give more time to stakeholders to put their infrastructure in place.
Analogue Switch-off Justified
Meanwhile, Varma said he stood by the decision to switch off analogue transmissions when resorting to digital addressable systems.
He further added that permitting the co-existence of both analogue and DAS, as had been done in the United States or the United Kingdom, would have led to a ‘warped policy’ in a country like ours.
Digitisation should be seen as a means to make the broadcasting sector more transparent and give a better choice and viewing experience to the consumer, he said, adding that it had also led to greater investments from India and overseas.
The very fact that subscribers, who have switched over to DAS were not complaining and there were many others opting for the new system, meant the average Indian had become more conscious of what they were watching on TV.
Affordability is not a major issue as those who have not yet bought digital set top boxes ‘will do so without being coerced’ once they see the advantages in terms of quality of picture, services, and value added services that may follow.
Varma felt the method of collection and sharing of subscription fees too is undergoing a major change, and the consumer will be able to see the benefits of this. Furthermore, carriage fees charged by cable TV operators and MSOs had also come down and this would be reflected in the fee they charge subscribers.
Varma believes that even the rural TV viewer will be in a position to partake of the fruits of cable TV digitisation. He pointed out that fatter wallet subscribers in metros and cities who will be paying for value-added services and other benefits will, in a sense, subsidise the rural consumer who is not so rich.
As the adage goes, take from the rich to feed the poor. Even in television!
News Broadcasting
Business Today MindRush returns to Mumbai, spotlight on India’s edge in a fractured world
Policymakers and corporate heavyweights gather to map supply chains, energy security and markets
MUMBAI: As fault lines widen across global trade and geopolitics, Business Today is doubling down on India’s moment. The 14th edition of Business Today MindRush & Best CEOs Awards lands in Mumbai on March 28, pitching India’s strategic edge at the centre of a fragmenting world.
The day-long summit, presented by PwC, will bring together a tight mix of policymakers, industry leaders and market voices to decode shifting supply chains, maritime strategy, defence priorities, energy security and capital markets—sectors now deeply entangled with geopolitics.
M Nagaraju, secretary, department of financial services, ministry of finance, will headline the event, setting the tone for discussions that aim to track how India is repositioning itself amid disrupted trade routes and volatile energy dynamics.
The speaker slate reads like a cross-section of India Inc’s command centre. Krishna Swaminathan will zero in on sea lanes and supply chains, while Prashant Ruia is set to push the case for self-reliance in oil and gas. Ashish Chauhan will weigh in on capital markets at a pivotal juncture, as a panel featuring Vibha Padalkar, Sanjiv Mehta, Amish Mehta and Sanjeev Krishan debates navigating economic uncertainty.
Leadership under pressure will be another running theme. Madhavkrishna Singhania, Sharvil Patel, Karan Bhagat and Anurag Choudhary will unpack how businesses are steering through disruption. Arun Alagappan will turn the spotlight on fertilisers, Arundhati Bhattacharya will reflect on leadership transitions, while Anish Shah and S Vellayan will outline blueprints for building future-ready conglomerates.
The event will close with Aroon Purie setting the broader editorial lens, before the Best CEOs Awards recognise standout corporate leadership across sectors.
At a time when the global order looks increasingly splintered, MindRush 2026 is positioning itself as more than a conference—it is a signal that India intends not just to navigate the churn, but to shape it.
