I&B Ministry
Vijay Singh is the new I&B additional secretary
NEW DELHI: India’s Information and broadcasting ministry has got itself a new additional secretary (broadcasting) – Vijay Singh as Anil Baijal has been moved to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from the ministry.
For Singh this is a lateral movement as he comes to the I&B ministry from the ministry of petroleum, chemicals and fertilizers where he was an additional secretary.
Baijal, a Union Territory cadre bureaucrat, spent about two years in the I&B ministry and was said to be close to the former I&B minister Sushma Swaraj. He has also been empanelled for secretary’s post and in due course would have been promoted to one. According to government sources, Baijal has petitioned the government to safeguard his interests as the posting in the DDA is of the rank of additional secretary only.
As an additional secretary in the I&B ministry, Baijal had been involved in some important policy making process, including the recent one involving the new uplinking policy and the codes for surrogate advertising on television.
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.
