I&B Ministry
IBF saddened by the untimely demise of Arun Jaitley
New Delhi: IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation), India’s apex body of television broadcasters is shocked and saddened by the untimely demise of Shri Arun Jaitley, former Finance Minister and MP. IBF President, NP Singh has expressed profound grief and sorrow on his death and called the loss to the country 'irreparable'. NP Singh adds that, "He will be remembered as a statesman and parliamentarian par excellence and a champion of free speech. We are deeply saddened by his sudden demise".
IBF salutes the statesmanship of Shri Arun Jaitley and acknowledges his immense contribution to the industry when he held the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting portfolio in the Modi government.
IBF believes that the vacuum caused by Shri Jaitley's death will be hard to fill and expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family
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.
