I&B Ministry
Parliamentary Committee okays MIB’s Rs 350 cr. proposal for govt campaigns
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) proposal to seek a revised cost estimate for additional requirement of funds to the tune of Rs 350 crore for the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) has found favour with a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
The Committee agreed with the Ministry’s apprehension that if adequate funds are not made available under the scheme, the multimedia campaign of flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Jan Dhan Yojana, etc. will get adversely affected.
The Committee said sustained campaign for people’s participation in the flagship programmes of the Government should not suffer due to want of funds.
It therefore wanted the Ministry to pursue with the Finance Ministry for adequate allocation under the scheme.
The MIB informed the Committee that the proposal had already been mooted and is in process.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that out of an allocation of Rs 160.20 crore, the Ministry had been able to spend Rs 147.01 crore (91.76 per cent) during 2014-15. “There has been a cent percent achievement of physical targets under Scheme of DAVP during 2014-15,” the Committee said.
The Committee was given to understand that due to total exhaustion of funds allocated for the entire 12th Plan period, the left over amount of Rs 23 crore from the original approved fund of Rs 470 crore had been allocated for the schemes of DAVP during 2015-16.
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.
