I&B Ministry
MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs
NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has said that HITS (Head-end In The Sky), private DTH and DD FreeDish are the options in remote rural areas while discussing the issue of the concerns expressed by operators that over 20 per cent of rural and remote areas were not financially and technically viable.
DTH operators were advised by MIB to pay special attention to such area enabling customers in these areas to readily adopt these services given by them and to explore the possibility of cost effective packages especially for these remote and inaccessible areas.
About the issue of sharing infrastructure cost with MSOs & Local Cable Operators (LCOs) keeping in mind high cost of providing signals in remote areas, the Ministry said it felt consumers have the option to take services from DTH operators and/or DD Free Dish and it may not be administratively feasible by the Ministry to share cost for infrastructure as a large number of MSOs and LCOs are operating in these areas.
MeITY to solve problems relating to STB manufacturers
A Parliamentary Committee was told that the Electronics and IT (MeitY) Ministry was attempting to address the entire value-chain holistically and was in active consultation with the concerned Ministries in view of the demands by the Association of domestic STBs manufacturers of long term financing to the MSOs and 0% import duty with effect from 1 January 2016 under India-ASEAN FTA which has also adversely affected the production of domestic STBs.
The Committee noted that though there was no stay now after all cases relating to Phase III were transferred to the Delhi High Court, the cut-off date was extended “due to poor seeding of STBs because of the uncertainty caused due to the court cases.”
Under-utilisation of funds due to market uncertainty
It was also noted that Rs 50 million was allocated at budget estimate stage 2016-17 which was reduced to Rs 30 million at Revised estimates 2016-17 due to the large number of court cases filed in various High Courts and “total uncertainty in the market” about the implementation of cut-off date of 31 December 2015 & 31 December 2016 for Phase III and Phase IV of digitisation respectively.
As a result, workshops with the nodal officers could not be conducted, which resulted in the underutilisation of funds from the projections made at BE stage.
I&B Ministry
CBFC speeds up film certification; average approval time cut to 22 days
Over 71,900 films cleared in five years as digital system shortens approval timelines
MUMBAI: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has significantly reduced the time taken to certify films, with the average approval timeline now down to 22 working days for feature films and just three days for short films.
Operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the statutory body certifies films for public exhibition in line with the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. The rules prescribe a maximum certification period of 48 working days, though the adoption of the Online Certification System has sharply accelerated the process.
Over the past five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the board certified a total of 71,963 films across formats. Of these, the majority fell under the U category with 41,817 titles, followed by UA with 28,268 films and A with 1,878 films. No films were certified under the S category during the period.
Film approvals have also steadily risen in recent years. The CBFC cleared 8,299 films in 2020-21, a figure that peaked at 18,070 in 2022-23 before settling at 15,444 films in 2024-25. During the same period, 11,064 films were certified with cuts or modifications.
Despite the high volume of certifications, outright refusals remain rare. Only three films were denied certification over the last five years, with one refusal recorded in 2022-23 and two in 2024-25.
The board may recommend cuts or modifications if a film violates statutory parameters relating to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence.
Filmmakers can challenge CBFC decisions in court. Data shows that such disputes remain limited but have seen some fluctuation. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 21 certification decisions were challenged before High Courts, with the number rising to 10 cases in 2025.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan shared the data. The question was raised by Mallikarjun Kharge.
With faster timelines and a largely digital workflow, the certification process appears to be moving at a far brisker pace, signalling a shift towards quicker clearances for India’s growing film output.
