I&B Ministry
I&B ministry made nodal agency for giving information on govt’s achievements
NEW DELHI: Fazed by the fact that dissemination of information on government’s achievements were not being done properly, the information and broadcasting ministry, has been made a nodal agency for the purpose.
This decision was taken at a meeting held on 1 November wherein it was said that various media units of the I&B ministry, including AIR, Doordarshan and Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity would be asked to coordinate and pool their resources for reaching the people in every corner of the country and inform them about progress of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the government.
It was also decided that a separate report on the implementation of the CMP will be sent to the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary to the PM. DD would produce approximately four-minute programmes based on the progress reported by implementing ministries on the thrust areas of CMP. They would focus on one theme for every week. The respective Ministries would indicate the focus areas and provide inputs and the programmes would be produced in-house by DD.
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.
