I&B Ministry
No sex please! We’re Indians
NEW DELHI: It’s not always right to carry out surveys. Especially if it pertains to sex and sexual preferences of Indians.
The Delhi High Court today issued notices to leading weeklies India Today and Outlook for allegedly publishing obscene articles and sex surveys in their recent editions, reports Press Trust of India (PTI).
A division bench of Justices Vijender Jain and Rekha Sharma also issued notices to the information and broadcasting ministry and the Press Council of India asking them to file their replies by 7 December when the next hearing is scheduled.
A public interest litigation filed by one Supriya Aggrawal, through advocate Varun Goswami, alleged that the magazines had been corrupting the the minds of youngsters.
The case comes at a time when the I&B ministry has said that it has formed a 30-member panel, comprising representatives from the industry, activists and the government, to look into issues relating to content and advertising on TV, radio and films.
It is worth noting that I&B secretary SK Arora said today on the sidelines of the first India TV Summit in Mumbai today, organised by Indiantelevision.com and the Hong Kong-based Media Partners Asia, that print has been left out of the ambit of this newly-formed panel as it’s seen the medium already has certian guidelines relating to content in newspapers and magazines.
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.
