I&B Ministry
I&B ministry fails to list B’cast Bill for Parliament
NEW DELHI: Indian policy-makers seem to be having second thoughts on a draft broadcasting legislation that was proposed to be introduced in Parliament session, which started Monday.
In the list of business that Parliament is to transact during the monsoon session, the Broadcast Bill, which the information and broadcasting ministry had proposed to introduce in the House, is missing.
A senior government official admitted that there might be some “re-think” on a draft that had been sent to other ministries for feedback and the I&B ministry now “doesn’t seem to hurry through the Bill.”
This is an ample indication that the Bill, termed draconian by the media industry, is highly unlikely to be introduced during the monsoon session, giving the media industry to lobby more effectively against and attempt to muzzle the media.
Still, the government official added that not listing the Bill at this juncture doesn’t mean that it cannot be pushed through in Parliament for discussion later towards the end of the ongoing session.
“It all depends on what the I&B ministry thinks. If it thinks more consultation is needed on the draft, then it would do so. If it can complete all the work quickly and get the Cabinet’s nod, then the Bill could be introduced in Parliament this session only,” the official explained.
Last week a senior I&B ministry official had told Indiantelevision.com that feedback from other ministries were still awaited and the compilation work would take more than 15 days time.
The government has been facing flak from the industry and elsewhere too on the clandestine manner in which it drafted a Cabinet note on the Broadcast Bill.
Last week, as part of government-industry interaction, I&B secretary assured Confederation of Indian Industry’s media committee that a concept note on the draft Broadcast Services Regulatory Bill would be circulated for getting views of the media industry as inputs into the government’s decision-making process.
Arora had lamely justified restrictive provisions in the proposed Bill as ones designed to facilitate the industry’s growth and not to micro-manage its functioning.
He had explained the need for the Bill and a proposed media regulator with wide ranging powers was to provide “legislative backing to executive decisions” taken by the government in recent times.
This legislative backing was required, he had told captains of the media industry, as most of the executive decisions have been challenged in court and the government has been asked to show legislative sanction for its actions.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
