I&B Ministry
Swaraj stresses role of media in combating terrorism
NEW DELHI: The media has an important role and responsibility in fighting and isolating forces of terror. The battle is to be fought by the journalists, not with guns and tanks, but with their pens and words, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj said here today.
Inaugurating a Foundation Course in Journalism for a group of 15 Afghan journalists at the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, here today, Swaraj said that the forces of terrorism are still active in our region, and pose a threat to the peace and progress of humanity.
The minister said that the journalists must contribute in the reconstruction and re-building process. The newspapers in Afghanistan, should not only inform the citizens of the country, of the initiatives and programmes of the Afghanistan Government, they should also comment on what needs to be done further, Swaraj said.
Secretary, information and broadcasting, Pawan Chopra, said the electronic media, especially television, plays a great role in initiating thought and action through information. He said India has undergone a revolution in electronic media and the friends from Afghanistan must make the best use of their exposure in this field.
The course is designed to develop trained manpower to meet challenges of the times and more so when the image and the events in the country need to be projected in the right perspective and development and reconstruction efforts of the government need media and information support. Fifteen journalists and government media officers are attending the two-month course.
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.
