I&B Ministry
Reducing targets no solution, Prasar Bharati needs to lead
NEW DELHI: The utilisation of Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources for New Content Development Scheme of Prasar Bharati generated by Prasar Bharati during the entire 12th Five Year Plan shows that the expenditure made was more than the revenue generated during 2014-15 and 2015-16, a Parliamentary Committee has noted.
The Committee noted that the expenditure made during 2015-16 through IEBR has exceeded the net revenue generated by Prasar Bharati on account of lower revenue generation. The net revenue generated by Prasar Bharati had declined from Rs 12.6712 billion in 2015-16 to Rs 8.5733 billion in 2016-17.
Gross Budgetary Support may replace IEBR for content development
Noting that this is mainly on account of increasing expenditure on Other Administrative Expenditure (OAE) head, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology which also examines issues relating to Information and Broadcasting Ministry noted that the Government is considering a proposal for earmarking Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for this scheme.
The IEBR for the Scheme was approved by erstwhile Planning Commission for the Twelfth Plan Period (2012-2017) only, the Committee was informed.
It was also told that the Ministry had made sincere efforts to reduce the OAE expenditure which had declined during 2016-17.
But the Committee took “serious note” of the fact that the Ministry was not able to achieve the gross revenue projections during the entire 12th Five Year Plan and had reduced its gross revenue projection in 2016-17 citing reasons that falling short of achieving the set target was affecting the morale of the sales/marketing teams and therefore proving counter-productive.
AIR shows growth trend, DD shows decline in commercial revenues
When the Committee asked why the net revenue generation by Prasar Bharati had been declining since 2014-15, it was informed by the Ministry that the trend of Commercial revenue earnings of All India Radio is indicating growth whereas the revenue earnings from sharing of its Resources mainly with private radio operators are marginally declining.
This shortfall of revenue took place in 2016-17 due to shifting of rotation of issuing of invoices to financial year 2017-18 for 84 private FM Channels due to the process adopted in getting technical/site clearances for 84 channels and handing over the same to M/s BECIL/Private FM Broadcasters.
However in Doordarshan, the main factors of decline in revenue are stated to be tremendous increase in competition in advertisement with private entertainment channels, development of new media platforms etc.
Some formidable steps have been taken by Prasar Bharati to improve its revenue like auctioning of time slots on DD-National channel; strengthening of sales and marketing teams of AIR and Doordarshan, including induction of sales/marketing professionals; tie-ups with e-commerce sites for better monetisation of AIR/DD archive products etc.
IEBR not going towards salary
The Committee also noted that Prasar Bharati was not spending its IEBR on excess paid for salary and excess paid for Plan Schemes since 2015-16. This is because the Cabinet decision of 14 September 2012 had said that the Government is to provide support to Prasar Bharati for meeting 100% expenses towards salary and salary related expenses. In addition to this, the Cabinet decided that the Government would provide funds in the form of Grant-in-Aid to Prasar Bharati for creation of Capital Assets.
MIB asked to strengthen marketing to compete with private channels
The Committee was of the opinion that considering the broad mandate of the Ministry, “reducing gross revenue projections will not solve the purpose and the Ministry needs to raise the bar of its sales and marketing teams so that the public broadcaster can sustain vis-à-vis private channels.”
In the light of the challenges faced by AIR and DD in the fast changing media developments, the Committee recommended that Prasar Bharati continue with their efforts of revenue generation and also frame a strategy to lead the competition as a public broadcaster.
The Committee also recommended that steps be taken by Prasar Bharati to digitalise the vast archives of AIR and DD and generate revenue by making use of the rich archives. Efforts should also be made towards making these archives more accessible to the public. The Committee said it would like to be informed about the decision taken in respect of financing New Content Development Scheme of Prasar Bharati.
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.
