I&B Ministry
Report illegal TV channels, Govt alerted
NEW DELHI: While stressing that the law was clear that no cable operator could beam any private TV channel which had not been registered with the Government, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said today that a total of 889 private satellite channels had been given valid permission under Uplinking/ Downlinking Guidelines as on 31 January 2017.
Rathore told the Parliament that Sub Rule 6(6) of the Cable Television Network Rules 1994 specifies that no cable operator shall carry or include in his cable service any television broadcast or channel which has not been registered by the Central Government for being viewed within the territory of India.
The Ministry has from time to time issued advisories to State Governments to constitute State and District Level Monitoring Committees for broadcast content monitoring.
The Ministry on 8 July 2016 issued an advisory to the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs Governments, the District Collectors and the Multi System Operators (MSOs)/ Local Cable Operators (LCOs) to ensure that no unpermitted TV channel, are transmitted/ re-transmitted in the Cable Networks and to take action against the defaulter under the provisions of the Cable Television Networks Act 1995 to stop transmission of these channels.
In pursuance to this, necessary action had been taken by authorized officers and FIR lodged against the concerned LCO.
In mid-2016, the Ministry had also written to the Home Ministry to bring to its notice any illegal channels being beamed in the country.
However, the I and B Ministry had last month put on its website a list of 899 as at the end of 2016, with nine new television channels cleared in December 2016.
According to that list, permission had been initially granted to 1054 channels but later the licences of 155 channels had been cancelled. The 899 channels included 500 general entertainment channels and 399 news and current affairs channels.
Of these, while 788 were allowed to uplink and downlink in India, 20 were permitted to uplink from India but not downlink in the country and 91 channels uplinked from overseas were permitted downlinking into India.
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I&B Ministry
MIB blocks MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro and three other OTT platforms over obscene, sexually explicit content
Platforms streamed material violating IT Act provisions
NATIONAL: India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry blocked five over-the-top streaming platforms for allegedly hosting obscene and sexually explicit content, marking a fresh escalation in regulatory action against digital services operating outside the country’s content rules, as per media reports.
The platforms, MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu, were found to be streaming material that prima facie violates provisions of the Information Technology Act and rules governing online publishers.
Blocking orders were issued under statutory powers that allow the government to restrict access to online content in the interest of public order and decency. Internet service providers have been directed to disable access to the websites and mobile applications linked to the platforms.
The move forms part of a wider surveillance drive by the ministry targeting lesser-known and unregulated streaming services that allegedly evade self-regulatory obligations applicable to OTT platforms. Officials said the action followed repeated advisories urging compliance with Indian laws, including age-based classification, grievance redressal mechanisms and restrictions on explicit material.
Government sources described the content hosted by the blocked platforms as “highly explicit”, adding that it crossed legal thresholds permitted under Indian law. While large OTT players operate within a three-tier grievance redressal framework introduced in 2021, smaller apps have increasingly drawn scrutiny for distributing adult content without oversight.
The latest action also reflects heightened enforcement against platforms operating through mirror websites, offshore hosting arrangements or opaque ownership structures. Authorities have in recent years stepped up monitoring of online curated content amid concerns around obscenity, misleading promotions and unlawful distribution.
Officials declined to say whether further steps, including probes into operators, payment gateways or production entities, were being considered. However, sources indicated that additional platforms could face similar action if found in breach of the law.
