I&B Ministry
India has 890 TV channels against 12th Plan target of 1500
NEW DELHI: With the government having cleared a total of 890 television channels including 401 news channels, it appears highly unlikely that the country will achieve the target of 1500 channels by March next year.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology which goes into issues relating to Information and Broadcasting noted that the State Finance Commission, while drafting its proposals for the 12th Plan (2012-17), had assumed that the number of permitted TV channels would rise to 1500.
However, a recent I and B ministry report said that a total of 890 TV channels had got permission to start their operation as on 31 May. Out of these, twenty channels including seven news channels have been permitted to uplink from India but not downlink within the country, and 96 including 81 general entertainment channels are uplinked from overseas but allowed to downlink into TV homes in the country.
Meanwhile, the committee was told that the present set up of Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) has developed logging and recording facility for 900 TV channels and is thus fully equipped to start monitoring of all permitted channels available on public domain.
The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) is configuring all available free to air channels in the content monitoring system of the EMMC.
However, configuration of pay channels will require broadcasters to provide necessary equipment for downloading and decryption of the content/signal and this is expected to be completed within 4 months’ time.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology which goes into issues relating to Information and Broadcasting observed that the monitoring capacity of EMMC is being augmented in a phased manner to achieve the objective of developing content acquisition facility for 1500 channels by the end of the 12th Plan.
By the end of Fiscal Year 2014-15, EMMC successfully achieved the Plan target of content acquisition facility of 600 TV channels. Under the 12th Plan, Rs.56.37 crore had been utilized as of 31 March 2016 out of the total outlay of Rs.90 crore.
The committee was told that the budget estimate for 2016-17 had been reduced to Rs 12 crore as compared to Rs 21 crore in 2015-16, out of which Rs 19.76 had been spent by 3 March 2016.
During the year 2015-16, EMMC has procured content acquisition hardware for setting up monitoring facility for 300 additional TV channels and installed at the new set up on the eleventh floor of Soochna Bhawan in New Delhi. The channels are being configured.
The ministry also informed the committee that issues pertaining to monitoring of 600 channels, hardware for which was acquired in FY 2014-15 had been resolved. Hence, EMMC was able to stabilize and regularly monitor 600 TV channels.
The ministry said its target under the Machinery and Equipment head was to develop content acquisition facility for additional 300 TV channels by the end of FY 2016-17.
The committee was informed that during the year 2015-16, 11 cases were found where TV channels were in violation of content guidelines (Programme Code and Advertisement Code).
While there is no provision of pre-censorship of the content telecast on private TV channels, all programmes/ advertisements telecast on such TV channels are required to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the rules framed thereunder. Action is taken whenever any violation of the Codes is noticed or brought to the notice of the ministry.
I&B Ministry
CBFC speeds up film certification; average approval time cut to 22 days
Over 71,900 films cleared in five years as digital system shortens approval timelines
MUMBAI:Â The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has significantly reduced the time taken to certify films, with the average approval timeline now down to 22 working days for feature films and just three days for short films.
Operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the statutory body certifies films for public exhibition in line with the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. The rules prescribe a maximum certification period of 48 working days, though the adoption of the Online Certification System has sharply accelerated the process.
Over the past five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the board certified a total of 71,963 films across formats. Of these, the majority fell under the U category with 41,817 titles, followed by UA with 28,268 films and A with 1,878 films. No films were certified under the S category during the period.
Film approvals have also steadily risen in recent years. The CBFC cleared 8,299 films in 2020-21, a figure that peaked at 18,070 in 2022-23 before settling at 15,444 films in 2024-25. During the same period, 11,064 films were certified with cuts or modifications.
Despite the high volume of certifications, outright refusals remain rare. Only three films were denied certification over the last five years, with one refusal recorded in 2022-23 and two in 2024-25.
The board may recommend cuts or modifications if a film violates statutory parameters relating to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence.
Filmmakers can challenge CBFC decisions in court. Data shows that such disputes remain limited but have seen some fluctuation. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 21 certification decisions were challenged before High Courts, with the number rising to 10 cases in 2025.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan shared the data. The question was raised by Mallikarjun Kharge.
With faster timelines and a largely digital workflow, the certification process appears to be moving at a far brisker pace, signalling a shift towards quicker clearances for India’s growing film output.
