I&B Ministry
I&B ministry seeks clarifications on financing & management control from Space TV
NEW DELHI: The government today refused to be cowed down by strident questions relating to the Tata-Star DTH joint venture and hinted that procedures were followed in the case of Dish TV, 20 per cent owned by Zee Telefilms, too.
Replying to a written question on whether the government is still examining Space TV’s (the JV’s proposed brand name for a DTH service) application even after accepting Rs. 100 million as a precursor to the licence, information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy said that certain clarifications had been sought from the joint venture.
“Space TV has been asked to provide certain clarifications about project financing and nature of management control to ensure conformity to DTH guidelines,” Reddy said in a written reply in lower house on the last day of the winter session of Parliament today.
However, the minister clarified to another part of the same question, asked by Congress MP Avtar Singh Bhadana, that licence was granted to the Subhash Chandra-controlled ASC Enterprise “after detailed examinations” of its application.
“The ministry granted licence to ASC Enterprise Ltd also after detailed examination of their application, in accordance with DTH guidelines, including sources of funding, foreign investments, shareholders agreements, etc,” Reddy informed parliamentarians, trying to make it clear Space TV was not being handed step-motherly treatment.
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.
