I&B Ministry
Most film-friendly state to get Rs 1-cr cash award
NEW DELHI: The most film-friendly state in India will henceforth receive a cash award of Rs 10 million (Rs 1 crore) in addition to Rajat Kamal and certificate.
This was announced by information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu at the opening of the 28th State Information Ministers Conference (SIMCON) on Saturday.
The award was instituted in the National Film Awards given away on 3 May this year, and the first award had gone to Gujarat. But, there was no cash component involved.
The minister said this had been done to encourage the ease of film shooting. Naidu suggested that the prize money may be used by the winning state towards film facilitation. Meanwhile, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said a website was soon being set up for film facilitation and permissions.
Rathore urged the states to set up film facilitation units to ease out film shooting permissions as well as ensure seamless movement of their equipment.
The ministry was in the process of setting up a central portal for all such related permissions and welcomed states to also collaborate in this platform as a part of ease of doing business initiative, he added.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
