I&B Ministry
MIB cancels licences of 4 STV Enterprise channels
MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) recently cancelled the licences of STV Enterprises’ four channels Punjab Today, STV Haryana News, STV Jammu-Kashmir News and STV UP News (STV-Rajasthan) that were mentioned under the news category.
A while ago, it had also cancelled the licence of V6 ENT channel from VIL Media that was earlier called Nikit Investment Pvt Ltd and was mentioned under the news category.
During the month of January 2019, cancellation of licences to two MSOs Digi Cable Network and SCOD 18 Networking was upheld by the Supreme Court on security grounds. Before moving the apex court, the petitioners had approached the Bombay High Court where their pleas challenging the cancellation order by the MIB were dismissed.
Earlier, the licences issued to these cable TV service providers were cancelled by the MIB on the ground that the Ministry of Home Affairs denied issuance of "security clearance" to them. The apex court bench comprising Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Indu Malhotra security agreed that security clearance is a mandatory requirement as per Cable Television Network (Amendment) Rules.
Up until August 2018, MIB was strict in giving channel licences, even cancelling some. 14 channels, whose licences were cancelled by the MIB due to security denial by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), challenged the decision and had got a stay order from the High Court.
Out of these fourteen channels, twelve channels were news channels and two were non-news channels. Mahua Media Private Ltd, Mavis Satcom Ltd, STV Enterprises Ltd and Alliance Broadcasting Private Ltd were the concerned parties.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
