News Broadcasting
Licensed Indian channels drop to 784
MUMBAI: It has come under flak in the past for being rather liberal in issuing licences to TV broadcasters. But the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has been cracking down on this front over the past year or so.
And this is evident from the list of permitted private satellite TV channels which the MIB released on 2 December 2013. According to the list, there are 784 channels which have been allowed to beam over India.
The MIB’s 2012 official list had 848 channels when it was released on 20 December 2012. That means around 64 licences have been revoked in the past year.
After the Sarada Group scam last year, the MIB had sent notices to various companies asking for details about their shareholdings and structure. It then started the process of cancelling licences based on their response.
Among the reasons that it gave for the revocation figured: companies had not started broadcasting even a year after being issued a licence and shareholding patterns and directors were changed without the ministry being informed.
The MIB has also gone easy on issuing new licences to potential broadcasters. Some 50 applications are pending with it, according to industry officials.
The files for licence clearances have piled up because several representative meetings between the MIB and the Ministry of Home Affairs have been postponed over the past two months, point out industry executives.
A highly-placed industry source reveals: “A meeting was supposed to happen last week and this week as well, but it failed to take place.”
Among some of the channels which are awaiting MIB’s nod include: Epic TV, Al Arabiya News, Maha Movie, Blue TV etc.
Another source adds: “State elections and general elections have been a priority for the government. We, as an industry, are worried and feel that licenses are not on its priority list.”
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
