I&B Ministry
Prasad produces performance report card at the Rajya Sabha
NEW DELHI: The government has taken several initiatives to bring about changes in the entertainment sector in the interest of the overall development of this sector.
Access to institutional and bank financing has been facilitated for the entertainment industry, including films, foreign direct investment policy for the film sector has been liberalised and international visibility has been afforded to Indian films by participation in global markets.
This was stated by I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Indian parliament).
Apart from these, in order to suggest a policy framework for the entertainment industry, both at the centre and the States, a committee for development of the entertainment sector has been set up.
The committee had given its first set of recommendations which, including a recommendation to fix a ceiling of 60 per cent on entertainment tax, were circulated among the States and many State Governments have lowered their entertainment tax rates. An anti piracy training programme was also organised for police officers based on the recommendations of the committee, which is expected to be the precursor of many such training programmes.
In its recent meetings, the committee has made recommendations, mainly relating to a further reduction in entertainment tax rates, appointment of a nodal officer in each State assisting in anti-piracy matters and facilitating a single point clearance by State Governments for foreign film crews shooting in India. The second set of recommendations of the committee have also been persuasively circulated to state governments.
In order to bring about a receptive investment regime in the entertainment sector, within India, a committee has recently been set up to suggest a strategy to facilitate the flow of venture capital into the sector, the minister said.
The government had also constituted a committee to make recommendations for radio broadcasting. The executive summary of this committee’s report may be seen on the ministry’s website at www.mib.nic.in.
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.
