I&B Ministry
India emerges as content hub: I&B ministry hosts WAVE Summit 2025
Mumbai: India is positioning itself as a global content hub, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting spearheading initiatives to foster innovation in the broadcasting sector. The WAVESummit, scheduled from 5-9 February 2025, will challenge content creators with 27 unique opportunities, providing a national and international platform for talent showcasing and employment generation.
On 17 October 2024, information and broadcasting minister of state, L. Murugan inaugurated a symposium on ‘Emerging Trends and Technologies in Broadcasting,’ hosted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) during the India Mobile Congress 2024. The event witnessed key addresses by industry leaders, including TRAI chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti, ministry of I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju, and TRAI secretary Atul Kumar Chaudhary.
Murugan emphasised that India’s broadcasting sector is undergoing a transformative phase due to technological advancements. With the rise of social media, the landscape of content creation has dramatically expanded, turning India into a major player in the global content economy. “We live in a content-driven economy, and India is emerging as a content hub,” said Murugan. He also highlighted the government’s focus on promoting content production through a streamlined single-window system to enhance the ease of doing business, particularly in the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics) sector.
Further supporting content growth, the union cabinet recently approved the auctioning of FM radio channels in 234 new cities, aiming to boost local content and create more employment opportunities. Murugan reaffirmed the government’s commitment to leveraging technological advancements to strengthen the broadcasting sector’s contribution to India’s economic and cultural development.
Jaju, in his special address, emphasised the potential of digital radio and direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcasting. He mentioned ongoing trials conducted by Prasar Bharati in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and Saankhya Labs, aiming to deliver content directly to mobile devices using low- and high-power transmitters. Jaju also underscored the transformative potential of 5G technology, particularly when combined with immersive media such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), which could redefine the content consumption experience.
The symposium also focused on discussions around strengthening the regulatory framework. Chaudhary highlighted the necessity of adapting regulations to meet emerging technological needs. He noted that today’s discussions aim to shape future policies that ensure a balanced and inclusive broadcasting ecosystem.
Lahoti highlighted the booming growth of India’s media & entertainment sector, projected to reach Rs 3.08 trillion by 2026, driven by new media platforms and immersive technologies. He reiterated TRAI’s commitment to fostering innovation through forward-looking regulatory recommendations.
The symposium explored the future of immersive technologies, D2M, and 5G broadcasting. The event featured over 100 national and international participants, with expert speakers from various industries, including broadcasting and telecommunications.
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.
