I&B Ministry
Skill of officers depends on effective communication of information: Mukherjee
NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee today advised Indian Information Service officers that “the skill of the officers would depend on how effectively they are able to communicate information.”
He said the IIS provides an opportunity to its officers to communicate proper information in the correct perspective with various stakeholders.
“Knowledge is power and the basis of knowledge is information”, he added.
Mukherjee was speaking to a group of probationers of IIS (2015 Batch), Indian Trade Service (2015 Batch) and Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service (2015 Batch) who called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the probationers on their success in the civil services exam which is regarded as one of the toughest competitive exams in the world. He said that the civil service has a long history and different services were created at different points of time to meet various exigencies.
He told probationers that their decision to join the civil services will provide them ample opportunity to serve the country and bear responsibilities even at a young age. He wished the probationers all success in their future assignments.
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.
