I&B Ministry
I&B says Star will have to apply afresh for news uplink clearance
NEW DELHI: The Indian government has fired a twin salvo at Star News.
The information and broadcasting ministry today maintained that Media Content & Communication Services India Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS) will have to apply afresh for uplinking if there are changes in the shareholding pattern (read Kumarmangalam Birla pulling out of the venture). Simultaneously, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has asked for several clarifications from the company if its journalists are to be accredited with the government.
“I think so,” a senior I&B ministry official told journalists today when asked whether MCCS would have to apply anew in the wake of reported changes in the shareholding pattern, adding that a fresh memo has been sent on Monday.
The official further said that the government has asked for “certain clarifications from MCCS based on media reports” that Birla has withdrawn from MCCS, the news venture that was to supply content and uplink it from India for Star News channel.
However, the official added that “channels, especially news channels, are not switched off arbitrarily,” and it would be in MCCS’ favour if it gets back to the ministry as soon as possible with answers to the government posers.
Pointing out that the government won’t be unfair to MCCS or Star News where uplinking is concerned, the official said, “The weekly permission (for uplinking) cannot be open-ended. If Star applied late, then the ministry cannot be put at fault. Moreover, it seems that since their structure is not in place, it may lead to further delays.”
The present stridency in the government’s approach is in sharp contrast to the softening of its stand just 10 days back when officials had maintained that they see no reasons why MCCS’ application could not be processed fast.
Contacted by indiantelevision.com, the official spokesperson for Star India, the single largest shareholder of MCCS with 26 per cent stake, said, “We have not heard from the government today, so we cannot comment.”
Though the I&B ministry maintained that till 5:45 pm it had not heard from MCCS or Star India, sources in the Rupert Murdoch-owned company admitted a formal reply to various government clarifications cannot be formulated because the company itself is not “officially aware” whether Birla has exited the news venture or not.
AFTER I&B, IT’S PIB’S TURN TO SEEK CLARIFICATIONS
The PIB, which is responsible for giving accreditation to journalists, now has joined issues with its parent body, the information and broadcasting ministry, and asked for several clarifications from MCCS before a final decision can be taken on the application for accreditation of two journalists from the organisation.
The PIB, which is responsible for giving accreditation to journalists, now has joined issues with its parent body, the information and broadcasting ministry, and asked for several clarifications from MCCS before a final decision can be taken on the application for accreditation of two journalists from the organisation. MCCS is a company in which Star holds 26 per cent stake, while the rest of the shareholding is divided amongst seven Indians in various proportions, including Birla.
The four points that have been raised by the PIB in a letter sent today to MCCS — as also faxed to news director and a board member Sanjay Pugalia — includes those relating to revenue earned by the company in the last one year and whether MCCS is a company more than one year old.
The last point is important because the PIB, government officials point out, does not give accreditation to journalists from those organizations that have not completed a year’s operations.
According to a senior government official, MCCS recently applied for accreditation of two journalists with the government, including that for Pugalia, after an earlier application for accreditation, filed by Star News Broadcasting Ltd., had been withdrawn.
The PIB has sought clarifications from MCCS on the following four points:
* Indicate revenue earned from sale of news and current affairs and other programming in the last one year (FY 2002-03) duly certified by a chartered accountant.
* Supportive documents of payments received from Star News Broadcasting and others, if any, on account of sale of news clips and supply of news and current affairs (N&CA) programming.
* Date from which MCCS is supplying N&CA content to Star News Broadcasting.
*Clarify MCCS’ position on claim of supply of news content to Star News Broadcasting from 30.5. 2002, while, to the contrary, NDTV had been the sole supplier news to Star News till March 2003.
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.
