I&B Ministry
MIB grants provisional licences to 12 MSOs as DAS Phase III gets going
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has granted provisional licences to another 12 multi system operators (MSOs) after 1 January, 2016 in a bid to help expedite the implementation of Phase III of digital addressable system (DAS) in all urban areas in the country.
The number of MSOs that have received provisional licences has now gone up to 424, from 412 on 1 January, which had proved lucky for 30 MSOs as they got their provisional licences in a single day. In fact, once again, all the 12 MSOs got their licences on a single day – 12 January. So far, January has seen as many as 42 MSOs getting provisional licences.
An earlier list had put the figure at 382 provisional licensees on 31 December, 2015 the day the analogue signals were to be switched off, showing 45 new MSOs had been added in the last fortnight of 2015.
Adding to the 230 who have 10-year permanent licences, the total number of registered MSOs now goes up to 654.
While the MIB website did not display the number of permanent licensees, indicating that the number remains at 230 as it has remained since 20 November.
With the Home Ministry directive about doing away with security clearances for MSOs not being communicated in writing to the MIB, the pace remains slow.
The new licensees covering 11 states include one MSOs in the northeast for Tripura, but it also includes two MSOs in Tamil Nadu and one in Chhattisgarh where DAS Phase III remains stayed.
The other states covered include states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Padesh, and Kerala.
The number of MSOs was 612 on 31 December, 567 in mid-December, 553 by 24 November and 470 earlier in November, but this increase was merely in those who have provisional licences.
Sources said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.
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.
