I&B Ministry
‘No rollback of FDI norms for print’: Reddy
NEW DELHI: The government, today, stated there would be no rollback of foreign investment norms for the print medium, though a group of ministers (GoM) has been set up to study various aspects of this sensitive sector.
There is no intention to roll back the previous government’s decision allowing 26 per cent foreign investment (in the print medium), information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy told the Economic Editors conference, here today.
The reason for continuity: not to destabilise the investment framework. “We feel that the previous government had put in enough safeguards, which are being studied by a GoM along with a host of other related issues,” the minister added.
The present Congres-led government had been opposed to opening up the print medium to foreign investments, which was an issue that was first debated and then acted upon by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government. “We have learned to live with it (FDI),” Reddy said when pointed out that he and his party vehemently opposed the issue.
However, Reddy said that no final view has been taken on allowing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in news channel ventures. Various news channels in the country had been demanding that FII investments should be allowed in their respective parent companies, a la print medium.
“The (FII) issue is still being studied as we want to bring in a downlinking policy (first),” Reddy said without giving a time frame for enacting legislation in this regard. Ministerial sources, meanwhile indicated that the downlinking policy may take few weeks before a note could be readied for cabinet”s consideration.
On his pet topic of autonomy of Prasar Bharati, Reddy reiterated that some additional funding need to be generated if the pubcaster were to be really autonomous.
“Should the autonomy of Prasar Bharati (manager of Doordarshan and All India Radio) depend on the fancies of migratory ministers?” Reddy asked, hammering in a point that public had to chip in if public service broadcasting were to be kept alive in the country.
In the past, Reddy has suggested levying a one-time cess on every new radio and TV set sold in the country or levying an additional excise duty on radio and TV sets. “I am not proposing anything, but such a thing could help Prasar Bharati generate more money and reduce government funding,” he added.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
