I&B Ministry
I&B commissions new programmes for overhaul of North East channels
NEW DELHI: An amount of Rs 80 million and Rs 105 million, respectively, was allocated to Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Guwahati and PPC (NE) Guwahati for commissioning of programmes in 2002-’03, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.
As a reply to questions posed by BJP member Indramoni Bora in the Rajya Sabha, Prasad, said that 1,487 episodes were commissioned for DDK’s producers from the northeast and 1,379 episodes to PPC Guwahati.
Replying to another question on the northeast, Prasad said that the 24-hours Northeast Satellite Channel was started on 27 December 2000, with a view to extend coverage to the population in the hilly terrain.
According to Prasad, the required capital outlay of Rs 3,213.5 million, projected for the period 2001-’02 to 2004-’05, will be spent in four phases. A number of special programmes have been commissioned, which include those with development themes, cross border terrorism, militancy, magazine programme on events and achievements in the northeast and a fiction serial on an award-winning novel .
Prasad said that the northeast channel is also available outside the region through satellite. About Rs 1,421 million has been approved mainly to upgrade the programme service for the 24-hours satellite channel.
Meanwhile, the government has stated that a core group has been set up to consider amendments to the copyright act and different groups of the music industry have made their submissions with regard to retention/ deletion/ modification in Section 52 (1) (i) of the Copyright Act 1957.
Replying to a question by N P Durga in Rajya Sabha, Prasad said that the nodal ministry for the Copyright Act, 1957, is the ministry of human resource development. He added that in 1999, the Copyright Division started the exercise of amending the Copyright Act, mainly to bring it in consonance with WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996, and WIPO Performance and Phonogram Treaty, 1996, and the TRIPS Agreement.
Prasad said that there is no unanimous view of the entire music industry on Section 52 (1) of the Copyright Act.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati opens AIR to private content under new policy
NIPP introduces revenue share, sponsored and gratis models
MUMBAI: Radio may be the oldest voice in the room, but it’s learning some very modern tricks. In a bid to stay tuned to changing listener habits, Prasar Bharati has opened the doors of All India Radio to private players under a newly rolled-out content framework. The initiative, titled Notice Inviting Programme Proposals (NIPP), marks a significant shift in how the public broadcaster approaches programming moving from a largely in-house model to a more collaborative, market-aligned ecosystem. Issued by Akashvani’s Directorate General in April 2026, the policy invites private producers, content owners and aggregators to pitch programmes across formats, from radio dramas and documentaries to quiz shows, storytelling and music-led content.
At the heart of the framework lies a three-pronged participation model designed to balance creative freedom with commercial viability. The most prominent route is revenue sharing, where advertising and sponsorship income generated by a programme is split between the producer and the broadcaster. The structure tilts in favour of creators offering a 70:30 split when producers bring in advertising, and 65:35 when monetisation is handled by Prasar Bharati.
Alongside this sits the sponsored model, where producers fully fund and monetise their content, subject to compliance with advertising norms and the AIR Broadcast Code. For those less commercially inclined, a gratis route allows content to be submitted free of cost, with Prasar Bharati retaining all monetisation rights effectively turning the platform into a national distribution channel for diverse voices.
The move comes as legacy media grapples with intensifying competition from private FM networks, streaming platforms and digital audio ecosystems. By repositioning AIR as both a public service broadcaster and a content marketplace, Prasar Bharati appears to be recalibrating its role in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Importantly, the framework does not dilute editorial control. All submissions must adhere to the AIR Broadcast Code, and proposals are evaluated through a layered process that weighs storytelling quality, production capability, audience appeal and revenue potential. Only proposals crossing a defined threshold move forward, signalling that while access has widened, the bar remains firmly in place.
Operational discipline is another cornerstone of the policy. Producers are required to maintain broadcast-ready content, deliver episode banks in advance and navigate a structured approval process. Crucially, all production costs are borne by the content provider, reinforcing Prasar Bharati’s positioning as a distribution and oversight platform rather than a commissioning entity.
What elevates the initiative further is its scale. The framework spans multiple clusters and stations across India, covering both metro and regional markets, with specific language mandates and submission channels. This not only expands the content pipeline but also deepens linguistic and cultural representation, an area where AIR has historically held an advantage.
In effect, NIPP signals a quiet but meaningful transformation. AIR is no longer just broadcasting to the nation, it is inviting the nation to broadcast with it, blending legacy reach with contemporary content economics in a bid to stay relevant in an increasingly fragmented audio universe.
