I&B Ministry
India steps up fight against digital piracy
MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has opened the floor to industry voices as it plans a major revamp of India’s digital anti-piracy armour.
A public notice issued on 7 November invites inputs from film producers, broadcasters, OTT platforms and telecom players on tackling the fast-spreading menace of online content theft. With billions lost each year to pirated movies and shows, the government is keen to tighten its grip on digital delinquents.
Stakeholders have been asked to share their experiences on identifying and removing pirated content, plugging technological gaps, improving coordination with enforcement agencies and adopting global best practices that fit India’s media landscape.
Suggestions can be emailed to digital-mediamib@gov.in within 20 days of the notice. The move signals a renewed push to build a stronger, smarter defence for India’s creative economy, before the pirates sail any further.
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.
