I&B Ministry
No policy announcements, it’s simply ‘Mann ki Baat’
NEW DELHI: The Government has made it clear that the prime minister Narendra Modi’s monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast does not cover any public policy or announcements.
The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in the Parliament that “Mann Ki Baat is a unique initiative of the prime minister to reach across to the masses through the Radio and connect with the common man on regular basis, inform them about the initiatives of the Government and seek their support in nation building and governance”.
He added that through this programme the Prime Minister has directly shared his concerns on issues affecting citizens of the country like cleanliness, saving the girl child, welfare of Divyangs, uprooting the menace of drugs and road rage etc. It also provides the listener an opportunity to suggest topics and issues faced by the common man and thus become a part of participative governance.
The prime minister has now made the broadcast for 26 months.
All India Radio has commenced the regional language broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ immediately after the Hindi broadcast is over.
AIR Director General Fayyaz Sheheryar told Indiantelevision.com’s sister concern Radioandmusic.com that this will be in addition to the broadcast on regional kendras that comes at 8.00 pm on the last Sunday of the month when the Prime Minister makes his broadcast. He said that AIR had advertised before this broadcast that listeners can catch the broadcast on the entire AIR network including medium wave and FM Gold and FM Rainbow.
In addition, the broadcast is carried live on Doordarshan National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD India and DD Kisan.
The broadcast can also be heard on the AIR Mobile App ‘All India Radio Live’ on Android, IOS and Windows and also give a missed call on 1922 to listen to the broadcast.
It is streamed live by pmonradio.nic.in, allindiaradio.gov.in, newsonair.nic.in, and youtube/user/akashvaniair.
It is also available free to all private television channels and FM channels. Letters can be sent on MyGov.in, and NarendraModi App.
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PM’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’: AIR starts regional translation after Hindi
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.
