I&B Ministry
Mithun Chakraborty resigns Rajya Sabha seat on grounds of ill health
NEW DELHI: Yesteryears actor and dancing star Mithun Chakraborty, who had become a Member of the Rajya Sabha on behalf of the Trimanool Congress in April 2014, has resigned on ground of sickness.
Mithun has resigned nearly one and half years before the end of his term.
After his innings as the Grand Master on the Dancing reality show Dance India Dance, Mithun has generally avoided any public appearance and there have been unconfirmed reports of him suffering from prolonged illness.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien was quoted by ANI as saying, “He resigned from RS on health grounds. We continue to share warm relationship with him and his family. We wish him speedy recovery”.
He attended only three days of Parliament in nearly two years and Deputy Chairman P J Kurien also commented on this in the house.
He has written to the Chairman that because of his health condition he is not been able to fulfil his duty in Rajya Sabha and that is why he is relinquishing his seat, sources added.
His tensure has not been without controversy as he was named for his association with Saradha group. He later said Saradha had not paid his due amount.
Mithun’s real name is Gourang Chakraborty but he is commonly referred as ‘Mithun Da’. Mithun began his career in the Indian film industry as a junior artist and went on to establish himself as a superstar.
Mithun is also known for his fusion of “Disco and Desi”. He is also recognized as one of the best “dancing-heroes” in Bollywood.
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.
