I&B Ministry
Radio FM cos. push for quick policy change
NEW DELHI: A delegation of private FM radio players met information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy, today, to exhort him to expedite work on the recommendations for expansion of the second phase of FM radio in the country. But, they only got a patient hearing from the minister sans any assurances on any subject.
Though there were several issues involved, but, as The India Today Group promoter Aroon Purie told indiantelevision.com, the main one was that of payment of the licence fee that became first payable on 30 April. The second deadline is 12 June, which has been set by a dispute redressal tribunal.
“There is no question of not paying the licence fee (for four months). We will,” Purie said, adding, “But the main issue is to take forward the second phase of FM radio expansion for which the government has to give us certain directions.”
An ITG company, Radio Today Network, runs FM radio stations in several cities.
The private FM radio players had been lobbying for waiver of the licence fee till the government took a final view on recommendations made by an expert panel on FM radio policy, which included issues like revenue sharing, foreign investment in the sector and allowing of news and current affairs programming on private stations.
Failing to get some assurances from the previous government because of the announcement of election dates (when no policy decision of consequence could be taken), the FM radio companies had moved the court and subsequently TDSAT, a dispute redressal tribunal under the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The tribunal had ruled that the companies would have to pay up four months licence fee as an interim measure.
Pointing out that it was too early for Reddy to give assurances, Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. MD AP Parigi, said, “We apprised the minister of the issues involved and requested him to see that the ministry takes a final view on the expert panel’s recommendation soon.” The company manages Radio Mirchi.
The delegation also included Bennett, Coleman & Co. MD Vineet Jain, Mid-day group’s Tariq Ansari and representatives from Radio City and Sun group.
Asked about the losses that the private FM radio players would be incurring, Purie said that the combine losses of the players concerned would be “between Rs. 1,500- Rs. 2,000 million.” Added Jain, “Individual losses would look huge if the subsidies extended by the respective parent companies are withdrawn.”
By subsidies, Jain means the in-house group advertising that is made available to most FM radio stations. For example, technically, a Star Plus ad on Radio City or a Times of India ad on Radio Mirchi cannot really be termed as revenue as they have been extended by parent companies.
A government official later said that some of the FM radio companies have paid up the licence fee as per the tribunal ruling.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
