I&B Ministry
Media should reflect on whether airing gang rape film is justified: Jaitley
NEW DELHI: Even as the Delhi High Court is still to decide finally on the ban on India’s Daughter by Leslee Udwin, Information and Broadcasting Minister (I&B) Arun Jaitley said, over the weekend, that the media worldwide should reflect on issues surrounding the film made by BBC and specifically on whether a media organisation should allow its platform to be used by a rapist to justify his innocence.
Asked by reporters in London to give his view on the ban, Jaitley who, is a also lawyer, said the matter was in court.
“The Home Ministry and Parliament had a certain view, which was expressed. Without getting into the issue because it has been challenged in the court and let the court decide this; I will only mention two points to be borne in mind by anyone who wants to produce any film on these causes,” he said.
Jaitley pointed out to a provision under Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, which came into force following the Justice Verma Committee report, to prohibit the naming and showing any photograph of the rape victim.
“Secondly, it is a question for the media itself to debate whether during the pendency of the appeal, a media organisation should allow its platform to be used by a rapist to justify why he is not guilty,” he added.
“My understanding of the English law is that on both these counts in a sub-judice matter wit the appeal pending, a media forum may not have been made available to the accused to justify his innocence,” Jaitley said.
He made a direct link with the comments of one of the rapists, Mukesh Singh, who had claimed he was at the wheel and hence “not part of the act.”
“These are the two crucial issues on which I would like the media itself to reflect on,” the Minister said.
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.
