I&B Ministry
Industry surprised on Deepak’s transfer from DoT, Jio connection refuted
NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Services officer J.S Deepak, who is to take charge as the next Indian ambassador to the World Trade Organisation in June this year, has been removed from his post of telecom secretary in the Department of Telecommunications.
He has been temporarily moved to the Department of Commerce as Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
A telecom ministry official, when contacted by indiantelevision.com, sought to play down the change, saying it was a routine transfer. However, he declined to answer questions on why this was not announced the way other transfers are announced through the personnel ministry.
Although the official denied any connection with the Jio controversy, industry experts expressed surprised at the abrupt transfer and said it appeared a very clearly motivated act.
Interestingly, Deepak was moved shortly after he wrote to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India asking it to restrict the period of promotional packs offered by telcos, which is currently has a maximum validity of 90 days. He added that the Reliance Jio’s free offers have cost the government almost Rs 8 billion and that has affected the telecom industry. He pointed out to TRAI’s regulation which mentions that any kind of pack which is “promotional in nature” cannot be offered beyond 90 days.
Deepak has earlier played the role of chief negotiator (India) at the WTO while signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, a global free trade agreement. Deepak also held an administerial position at DoT when it first introduced e-auctions during the 2010 spectrum auctions.
Deepak joined the DoT first in 2008 as Joint Secretary and has also worked with various government departments overlooking policy. He earlier served as the chairman and managing director of State Trading Corporation (STC) of India, member of the board of directors of state-owned telcos BSNL, and MTNL.
Deepak also holds a board position at the Board of India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
He has also worked as a consultant with The Policy Project, a group of US-based institutes that looked into framing population and health policies. He holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati opens AIR to private content under new policy
NIPP introduces revenue share, sponsored and gratis models
MUMBAI: Radio may be the oldest voice in the room, but it’s learning some very modern tricks. In a bid to stay tuned to changing listener habits, Prasar Bharati has opened the doors of All India Radio to private players under a newly rolled-out content framework. The initiative, titled Notice Inviting Programme Proposals (NIPP), marks a significant shift in how the public broadcaster approaches programming moving from a largely in-house model to a more collaborative, market-aligned ecosystem. Issued by Akashvani’s Directorate General in April 2026, the policy invites private producers, content owners and aggregators to pitch programmes across formats, from radio dramas and documentaries to quiz shows, storytelling and music-led content.
At the heart of the framework lies a three-pronged participation model designed to balance creative freedom with commercial viability. The most prominent route is revenue sharing, where advertising and sponsorship income generated by a programme is split between the producer and the broadcaster. The structure tilts in favour of creators offering a 70:30 split when producers bring in advertising, and 65:35 when monetisation is handled by Prasar Bharati.
Alongside this sits the sponsored model, where producers fully fund and monetise their content, subject to compliance with advertising norms and the AIR Broadcast Code. For those less commercially inclined, a gratis route allows content to be submitted free of cost, with Prasar Bharati retaining all monetisation rights effectively turning the platform into a national distribution channel for diverse voices.
The move comes as legacy media grapples with intensifying competition from private FM networks, streaming platforms and digital audio ecosystems. By repositioning AIR as both a public service broadcaster and a content marketplace, Prasar Bharati appears to be recalibrating its role in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Importantly, the framework does not dilute editorial control. All submissions must adhere to the AIR Broadcast Code, and proposals are evaluated through a layered process that weighs storytelling quality, production capability, audience appeal and revenue potential. Only proposals crossing a defined threshold move forward, signalling that while access has widened, the bar remains firmly in place.
Operational discipline is another cornerstone of the policy. Producers are required to maintain broadcast-ready content, deliver episode banks in advance and navigate a structured approval process. Crucially, all production costs are borne by the content provider, reinforcing Prasar Bharati’s positioning as a distribution and oversight platform rather than a commissioning entity.
What elevates the initiative further is its scale. The framework spans multiple clusters and stations across India, covering both metro and regional markets, with specific language mandates and submission channels. This not only expands the content pipeline but also deepens linguistic and cultural representation, an area where AIR has historically held an advantage.
In effect, NIPP signals a quiet but meaningful transformation. AIR is no longer just broadcasting to the nation, it is inviting the nation to broadcast with it, blending legacy reach with contemporary content economics in a bid to stay relevant in an increasingly fragmented audio universe.
