I&B Ministry
MIB tells broadcasters to pay heed to hearing impaired & visually challenged viewers
NEW DELHI: All television channels have been requested by the government to assign greater emphasis to programmes for disabled persons and to include the facility of providing captions in their programmes for the hearing disabled and audio support for programs for the visually disabled.
In a notice put up on its website late in the evening, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry also requested the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (lBF), the News Broadcasters Association (NBA),the Association of Regional Television Broadcasters of India (ARTBI), and the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to take steps in this direction.
The notice, which was put up under directions of joint secretary (Broadcasting) R Jaya, said the request was being made as immense public interest is involved.
The notice follows a meeting held between I and B secretary Sunil Arora and the secretary in the department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability (DoEPwD) to discuss advocacy and dissemination requirements for ‘Accessible India Campaign’ and other related issues .
Certain areas were highlighted in the meeting where support of MIB was solicited, such as awareness generation about the Accessible India Initiative, increased frequency of programmes for disabled persons in TV channels, showcasing films on achievements of disabled persons through public and private TV channels, and working towards captioning for the hearing impaired and audio facility for the sight impaired in programmes on TV channels in a time frame.
The note also said that the electronic media has played a crucial role in ensuring inclusiveness of all cilizens of the country in sharing information and entertainment.
The concerned bodies and channels have asked to give details of the achievements of such actions taken to the ministry.
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.
