I&B Ministry
I&B ministry proposes guidelines for encryption of channels
Mumbai: In an organised press briefing on Wednesday, the ministry of information & broadcasting introduced revised uplinking and downlinking guidelines for TV channels in India, as I&B secretary Apurva Chandra informed. The earlier guidelines were issued in 2011.
As per the new guidelines, the encryption of channels is now mandatory for all bands other than C band.
The following objectives are set to be achieved by the proposed guidelines:
1. Ease of compliance for the permission holder:
The proposed guidelines give importance to ease of compliance for the permission holder.
a) There is no requirement to obtain prior permission for live event telecasts; only the pre-registration of events would be necessary.
b) The requirement of prior permission for a change of language or conversion from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD), or vice versa is also not required.
2. Ease of doing business
a. The guidelines proposed a specific timeline for the grant of permission.
b. Limited liability partnership (LLP) entities can also seek permission.
c. A news agency can get permission for a period of five years instead of one year.
d. A channel can be uplinked by using the facilities of more than one teleport/satellite, as opposed to only one teleport/satellite.
e. The new guidelines have removed certain restrictions on the transfer of a channel from one entity to another.
f. A teleport operator can uplink a foreign channel for being downlinked outside India, enabling earning of foreign exchange for the operator.
3. Simplification and Rationalisation
a. One composite set of guidelines instead of two separate guidelines;
b. The structure of the guidelines has been systematised to avoid duplication, and common parameters, including financial requirements, etc., have been placed in appendices;
c. The penalty clauses have been rationalised to separate the nature of penalties that have been proposed for different types of contraventions as opposed to the uniform penalty as at present.
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.
