I&B Ministry
I&B ministry’s print media advertisement policy 2020: BOC to empanel publications suitable for issuing ads
NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting ministry issued the print media advertisement policy 2020, effective from 1 August 2020. The objective of the policy guidelines is to maintain a list of approved publications for release of advertisements by empanelling acceptable publications. The bureau of communication and outreach (BOC) will empanel publications which are found suitable for the issue of advertisements of the government of India.
Publications have been divided into three categories: small publications (circulation up to 25,000 copies per publishing day), medium publications (circulation between 25,001 and 75,000 copies per publishing day) and big publications (circulation of above 75,000 copies per publishing day).
The policy further explains the procedure of empanelment of publication. It states that there shall be a panel advisory committee (PAC) for considering applications of publications: The composition of the committee will be additional director general (MR & C), BOC- chairman; additional director general (media & communication) in the press information bureau (PIB) – member; press registrar/additional press registrar- member; director/deputy secretary/under secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting dealing with print media – member; additional director general/director, BOC, in charge of print media policy as convener/member secretary and one representative each from the big, medium and small category of newspapers nominated by the ministry of information and broadcasting–non-official member. The tenure of the non-official member of the PAC would be two years from the date of their nomination by the government.
The guideline discusses the advertising rates too. It says that the rate structure for advertisements against advertisements released by BOC will be worked out as per recommendations of the rate structure committee. The rates will be related to certified circulation of a publication. It further states that the payment against advertisements released by BOC will be worked out as per rate for advertisements in print media issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting dated 8 January 2019 or any subsequent order in this regard. The rates for advertisements by Maharatna and Navratna public sector undertakings (PSUs) will be 1.5 times the normal BOC rates. For advertisements of other PSUs, normal BOC rates will apply. And lastly, it says that the rates will be valid for three years from the date of revision.
In the rate contract section, the draft further reads that all empanelled publications will enter into rate contract with BOC on the basis of rate offered and other terms and conditions, as laid down from time to time, to ensure proper and timely publication of BOC advertisements. The rate contract will be valid for a period of two years.
It specifies if the publication is found to have deliberately submitted false information regarding circulation or If the publication is found to have discontinued its publication, changed its periodicity or its title or have become irregular in publication or changed its address of publication without due intimation and more then it can be suspended from empanelment by Pr. DG/DG, BOC with immediate effect for a period up to twelve months.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
