I&B Ministry
Of cable TV operators, news channels and MIB minister Venkaiah Naidu
MUMBAI: Indian cable TV operators and MSOs had better watch out. The information and broadcasting ministry is looking at strict enforcement of its earlier notification which mandates the carriage of 20 DD and Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV channels to all their subscribers in cities where digitisation has been implemented. Some channels of the pubcaster and the two parliament channels have to be carried mandatorily on non-digitsed cable TV networks also.
This is one of the first commands that has been fired by the new information & broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, following a meeting with bureaucrats in Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi over the weekend. Apparently, the issue of DD channel carriage came up in the meeting and Naidu told the officials to crack the whip.
The ministry and the pubcaster have in the past too attempted to have the MSOs and cable TV operators follow the mandate, but many have not complied
In his meeting on Friday, according to a PTI report, Naidu also directed I&B ministry officials to prepare a comprehensive policy on information and communication at the earliest. The policy will specify roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders to maximise the communication outreach to the people.
On Sunday, Naidu expressed unhappiness over the fact that sensationalism has been getting precedence on news outlets over news about the country’s developmental initiatives.
He has also asked the media to be constructive and added that he would be engaging and interacting with media, media owners and editors over the next few days. “The agenda of the country should be development,” he stated in a PTI report.
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.
