I&B Ministry
MIB organises talkathon with Ministers to mark Modi govt’s one year
NEW DELHI: Even as the Modi Government is marking completion of one year in office, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has organised a talkathon with three union ministers as part of its initiative to highlight the achievements of the Government.
In the first Talkathon of its kind, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy minister Piyush Goyal, and Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be participating for a duration of 90 minutes on 30 May from 6 pm onwards. The programme would be live from National Media Centre, New Delhi.
Talkathon is an initiative by the New Media Wing of the MIB, which connects the virtual space with the physical world. Under the platform, participants in the social media space can post questions on Twitter, which would be answered by the guests. The users can use the hashtag #AskYourGovt to post their queries to the Twitter handle of the Ministry @MIB_India.
The speakers will reply to the queries posted on Twitter, in real time. The event will be webcast LIVE on MIB’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/inbministry),pib.nic.in, india.gov.in, www.youtube.com/DDNewsofficial and DD News.
This is the third edition of the Talkathon. It was introduced at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2014 followed by Talkathon with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu after the Rail Budget. The last edition of the Talkathon was with Finance, Corporate Affairs and MIB minister Arun Jaitley soon after he presented the Budget on 28 February. The latter was especially successful with the hashtag #AskFM trending at Number 1 on Twitter.
The current edition of Talkathon is a collaborative effort of the New Media Wing, Press Information Bureau and Doordarshan News under the aegis of the MIB.
I&B Ministry
Digital radio, D2M tech set to reshape broadcasting and public messaging
Govt pushes next-gen delivery while TRAI tightens grip on spam ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s broadcasting and telecom landscape is undergoing a quiet but significant upgrade, with digital radio and Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technologies emerging as powerful tools for mass communication, while regulators step up efforts to tackle spam calls.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, digital radio and D2M are poised to transform how content reaches audiences by making more efficient use of spectrum. In simple terms, multiple channels can now be delivered over a single frequency, opening the door to a wider range of free-to-air content.
D2M technology takes this a step further by enabling video, audio and data to be broadcast directly to mobile handsets without relying on SIM cards or mobile data. The result is a resilient and cost-effective data pipe that can deliver everything from entertainment and education to critical emergency alerts, even in low-connectivity scenarios.
At the same time, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is tightening its grip on unsolicited commercial communication, better known as spam calls. The regulator has deployed a distributed ledger technology platform to bring transparency and accountability into the system.
Through this blockchain-based setup, consumers can register their preferences on receiving promotional messages, while businesses and telemarketers must also sign up and operate within defined rules. The platform also includes a complaint mechanism that allows users to report spam, with complaints shared across telecom operators for coordinated action.
The government’s broader push is being supported by infrastructure upgrades under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development scheme. Implemented through Prasar Bharati, the initiative focuses on modernising networks such as Akashvani and Doordarshan, including digitisation and adoption of next-generation broadcast equipment.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan said these steps are part of a larger effort to promote emerging technologies and strengthen the country’s broadcasting backbone. The response came to a query raised by member of Parliament Rao Rajendra Singh.
Together, these developments point to a dual-track strategy: expanding access to reliable, low-cost content while cleaning up the communication ecosystem. As digital pipes get smarter and spam filters sharper, India’s airwaves may soon feel a lot less noisy and far more useful.
