I&B Ministry
I&B asks Films Division to prove its mettle
NEW DELHI: In a bid to justify the existence of some divisions (and also the employees working there) within its fold, the information and broadcasting ministry has sounded off the Films Division (FD) to look for assignments outside the government, including private satellite channels.
FD has been instructed to undertake training and re-training of its staff members irrespective of the cost incurred,to be competitive in the present media environment.
“We have conveyed to Films Division to get out of the time warp of making just news reels (those which were shown few decades back in cinema halls before the start of a movie) and make documentaries and other interesting programmes for private broadcasters too,” a senior information and broadcasting ministry official told indiantelevision.com.
In this connection, the ministry official also pointed out that it has informally told Films Division to begin the training of the people working in the department, as soon as possible.
The move comes at a time when the I&B ministry has more or less rejected a finance ministry’s proposal (taking cue from the Geethakrishnan report on cutting flab in the Indian government) to close down certain divisions.
At a recent interaction with journalists, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj said that her endeavour is not to close down departments under her ministry but to go in for strategic mergers. The maximum that the ministry has done is to ‘surrender’ 1,000-odd posts in deference to the finance ministrys request.
FD was one division which critics have been saying has outlived its existence, especially in an era where TV brings news and events, most of the time live, into the bedrooms of people.
But there is also no denying the fact that if FD can change itself, it can find a market amongst private satellite channels which are still hungry for good non-fiction fare for television.
I&B Ministry
MIB cancels licences of three JioStar sports channels
Unchi Udann, Sports18 Hindi HD and Sports18 2HD permissions revoked on 20 February 2026; follows integration into Star Sports.
MUMBAI: JioStar’s sports channels just got benched by the regulator because when the ministry says “off air”, even the biggest players can’t argue with the whistle. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has revoked the uplinking and downlinking permissions for three non-news television channels operated by JioStar India Private Limited. The licences for Unchi Udann (previously Sports18 Hindi), Sports18 Hindi HD, and Sports18 2HD were cancelled on 20 February 2026, with the ministry citing a business decision by the broadcaster.
The move comes after JioStar integrated all Sports18 channels into the Star Sports Network, effective 15 March 2025, effectively consolidating its sports offerings under one umbrella. In India’s tightly regulated broadcast landscape, private satellite channels require MIB permissions for both uplinking (transmission to satellite) and downlinking (reception from satellite), making such cancellations a formal end to a channel’s on-air life.
This isn’t an isolated case. Earlier this month, on 12 February 2026, Living Foodz HD also surrendered its licence, with MIB noting the channel’s uplink and downlink had already been suspended since 13 November 2023 due to non-economic and financial viability issues.
For viewers, the change is largely seamless sports content continues uninterrupted on Star Sports channels. For JioStar, it’s a quiet pruning of legacy brands as the company sharpens focus on a unified sports portfolio in a crowded market. In a sector where spectrum and permissions are hard-won, losing them can feel like a red card but when it’s part of a deliberate strategy, it’s more tactical substitution than outright defeat.
