I&B Ministry
No reduction in Govt advertising: Rathore
NEW DELHI: The government has denied that there has been any reduction in advertisements to the print or electronic media.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in the Parliament that the quantum of advertisements is based on the requirements of the individual ministries and departments.
He said Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) is a nodal multimedia advertising agency of the Government for advertising on behalf of various ministries and departments and organisations of the Government of India including Public Sector Undertakings and Autonomous bodies.
The DAVP therefore publicises various policies, schemes and programmes on behalf of the client ministries and departments in accordance with their requirements, budget provisions and creatives.
Replying to another question, he said the DAVP empanels newspapers/journals as stipulated in the Advertisement Policy of the Government with effect from 2 October, 2007.
He said that no case of any newspaper is pending for more than six months, which fulfils all requisite norms as laid down in the Advertisement Policy.
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.
