I&B Ministry
Visiting filmmakers’ new visa category will boost industry & tourism, says Uday Shankar
NEW DELHI: The initiative to introduce a new category of visa for film makers to shoot films in India “will bring in multiple benefits as our young artists and technicians will get opportunities to be part of international projects and M&E verticals like studios and animation will get much needed exposure”, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee Chairman Uday Shankar has said.
Welcoming the Government’s decision, he said, “This is a right step taken at the right time as it will simplify the visa process and ease the entry of artists and technicians into India. I am also happy to note that the Film Visa and the Film Facilitation Offices (FFOs) are going to be set up to handle such applications.”
“More importantly, when these movies are released internationally, it will put India as a great tourist destination and thus promote India’s tourism potential”, Shankar added.
Minister of state for information & broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore yesterday said that the new category of visa to foreign filmmakers is a step taken by the Government to ease issues related to their entry into the country for film making and shoots. The step is a positive move to promote India as an attractive filming destination to the world.
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Film Visa & FFO make India filming destination: Rathore
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
