I&B Ministry
States may decide Pak artistes films fate
NEW DELHI: The Central Government will not intervene in cases involving protests about Pakistani actors working in Indian films if the film had been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Even as the controversy over Shah Rukh Khan having met a local part chief in connection with his upcoming film ‘Raees’ starring Pakistani actress Mahira Khan rages, the information and broadcasting ministry (MIB) sources told indiantelevision.com that this was more of a law and order problem which fell into the realm of the state governments.
In October this year, the Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd had expressed “genuine concern for all those film producers who invested heavily in films featuring artistes from across the border.”
Even as it expressed unflinching support to the Central Government and its solidarity with the Indian armed forces on their supreme sacrifice at Uri (Jammu and Kashmir) and courage and valor displayed during the recent counter-terrorism operations, it noted there had been some discourse in the media recently with regard to certain threats to disrupt the release of these movies.
The Guild, which represents most of the active Hindi film producers, there are many film producers who had either already shot their films or were in the process of completing their unfinished films prior to the escalation of hostilities with Pakistan. These included Karan Johar (‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ with Fawad Khan and ‘Dear Zindagi’ with Ali Zafar) which had also been certified by the CBFC and released.
Pakistani actor Fawad Khan was also seen in ‘Kapoor and Sons’, and earlier in ‘Khoobsoorat’ opposite Sonam Kapoor.
Meanwhile, the sources said no permission had been granted to any Pakistani TV or radio channel to broadcast in India.
Also read
Bollywood supports Govt’s Pak policy; pleads for ongoing projects
Film Industry supports Govt on Pak but says do not stop ongoing projects
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.
