I&B Ministry
I&B ministry acted against 126 violations of Programme Code in last 3 years
Mumbai: During 2018 to 2021, the Government took action against 126 cases of violation of Programme Code laid down in the Cable Television Networks (CTN) Rules, 1994 framed under Cable Television Networks Act, 1995. The action with respect to cases was taken by issuance of advisories, warnings, apology scroll orders, and off-air orders, said the ministry on Friday.
“Government has an institutional mechanism for taking action in respect of private TV channels which are found to violate the Programme Code. The I&B ministry also issues advisories from time to time to private satellite TV channels for adhering to the Programme Code,” said the minister of information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament.
The minister was responding to a query put forth in the Lok Sabha on whether the Government has taken cognizance of high decibel, sensationalist and slanderous news programmes/debates being hosted on Indian news channels. The Government was asked whether it has received complaints against news channels for violating the broadcasting guidelines and broadcasting fake news, hate and divisive agenda during the last three years.
The Government was also asked whether it is planning to initiate any code of conduct or broad guidelines for the debates that happen on electronic media and the time by which final decision is likely to be taken in this regard.
The Programme Code contains broad guidelines related to content broadcast on private television channels.
The guidelines also provide that no programme should contain anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos, and half-truths, and should not criticise malign or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country.
The Rules provide for a three-level complaint redressal mechanism; Level I by the broadcaster, Level II by the self-regulating bodies of the broadcasters; and Level III by oversight mechanism of the Central Government.
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.
