I&B Ministry
MIB empowers CBFC and I&B officials to remove pirated content
Mumbai: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established an institutional mechanism for nodal officers to receive complaints against piracy and direct intermediaries to take down pirated content on digital platforms.
After the parliament passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 1952 during this year’s Monsoon Session, Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur stated that the Act aimed to curb film piracy, a measure which has been a long-standing demand of the film industry.
The above action would allow instant action by MIB in case of piracy and will provide relief to the industry.
The amendment includes strict punishment of minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh, which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and fine of up to 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost.
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.
