I&B Ministry
RS Prasad voices need for media policy
NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting (I&B) minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said, the government would soon formulate a comprehensive media policy after having wide-ranging consultations with the media stakeholders. That included editors, media houses, broadcasters, working journalists, media critics, small and medium newspaper representatives, non-government organizations and state governments.
Inaugurating a two-day seminar on media policy at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication – just before attending a Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on convergence issues of regulation – Prasad said that technology has completely changed the media environment today.
He said, no government can stop the march of technology – it can only delay it, and even the delay “would be disastrous”.
According to Prasad, in the past four years, the I&B ministry has taken a number of initiatives like revision of policies on foreign direct investment (FDI) in print (both news and non-news), syndication arrangements, uplinking guidelines, DTH, CAS, community radio and FM privatization and so on.
But, he said, all these initiatives have been “reactive, rather than prospective”. He said, “The reach of technology is overpowering, altering all boundaries of relationships but we must juxtapose our policies with these technological changes. The government wants to come out with a National Media Policy looking at the media scene 10 or 20 years ahead.”
Prasad said the fast emerging situation has posed certain very important questions like creation of monopolies, cross-media restrictions and survival of small and medium newspapers.
“Globalisation, no doubt, is important and we cannot but be a part of it. But the face of globalisation has to be humanized,” Prasad said.
Referring to content in the media ,the minister said that the multiplication of media and proliferation of television channels has necessitated the need of an independent regulator for broadcasting sector.
But, he made it clear that the government has no role in this and has no intention to control the media. He said, the best course would be self-regulation but regretted that all his pleas to implement that in relation with objectionable ads on liquor and tobacco on TV channels, have fallen flat. This has strengthened the view to have a regulator, he pointed out.
Prasad said, it has to be seen whether the regulator would be under the proposed Convergence Commission or a separate broadcasting regulator. In this regard, Prasad said, though he is all for the freedom of press and creativity, the rights of the recipient – the viewer or the reader – also cannot be ignored.
The issue is to find out a way to juxtapose self-regulation with the over-powering commercialization, Prasad said, continuing that the great divide among the stakeholders in the broadcasting sector only highlights the need for an independent regulator that can help bridge this divide.
The minister also appealed to the media to lend its support to the economic reforms and said there is no escape but to carry out internal economic reforms.
The need is to educate the people about the benefits of reforms and enlist their support.
The I&B ministry’s secretary Pawan Chopra gave an overview of the three sectors of information, broadcasting and film and explained the recent polices initiatives of the government.
The two-day seminar would have five sessions and would review the existing elements of Media Policy – the available framework, need for having a Comprehensive Media Policy’, elicit the opinion of stakeholders across the spectrum and formulate policy recommendations and broad strategies for future deliberations.
The seminar is the first in the series of such events proposed to be held in all parts of the country to generate a nationwide debate and evolve a consensus before drafting the National Media Policy. Those invited to participate include the CEOs of media houses, senior editors and journalists, media critics, press institutions and organizations, non-governmental organisations, political representatives, members of Parliament, advertising experts, economists and broadcasters.
Participating in the discussion, the government’s principal information officer Sahab Singh said that new ideas must be developed and more positive measures must be taken to shake up the ad-hocism in policies and the prevailing inertia.
The responsibility of evolving a media policy, which is workable and progressive, also rest as much with the media as with the government, he said. He felt that the mature Indian press will shoulder this responsibility in having a document to guide in the media domain in the
form of a National Media Policy.
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
