I&B Ministry
NK Sinha takes charge as MIB secy from Ajay Mittal
NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Administrative Service officer Narendra Kumar Sinha (NK Sinha) (Bihar:1980) has assumed charge as the secretary in the ministry of information & broadcasting after the transfer of Ajay Mittal, IAS. Prior to his appointment, Sinha was the secretary in the culture ministry.
During a career span of more than 35 years, Sinha has held various field postings and has worked from grassroots to the higher levels of governance in both State and Central Governments. Prior to being Secretary, Culture, Sinha served as Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department, Bihar. He has served as Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
He has conducted a number of lectures and participated in innumerable workshops, symposiums and public functions to connect with experts, stakeholders and general public to explain them government schemes, elicit their response on various government policies and social issues. He has travelled widely within the country as well as abroad and has been part of many government delegations during national and international meetings, negotiations and events as a senior member.
Sinha is an M.E (Electrical) from IISc, Bengaluru. He also has an MBA from Southern Cross University, Australia and is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers (India).
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.
