I&B Ministry
With Pramod Mahajan’s name dragged into Delhi scribe’s murder case, question mark on Convergence bill?
NEW DELHI: Information Technology & Communication and parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan is staying put for the moment as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) closed ranks to support his case. But there is no denying that his future and that of various issues related to his first ministry look a bit uncertain now that Madhu Sharma, wife of a police officer RK Sharma accused in a murder case of an Indian journalist, has alleged that both Mahajan and home minister and deputy prime minister LK Advani are involved in the murder case.
Former minister of state for information and broadcasting and now a general secretary in the BJP, MA Naqvi told indiantelevision.com today morning, “There is no question of Pramodji resigning even on moral grounds.”
But in India where political mileage and gains are wrested even out of national calamities, the allegations levelled by Mrs Sharma yesterday at a recorded and televised press conference gives ammunition to the opponents and detractors of Mahajan within and outside his party.
Mrs Sharma on the Independence Day alleged that Mahajan was involved in the murder of Shivani Bhatnagar, a senior journalist working with the Delhi edition of The Indian Express. Married to The Times of India’s Delhi edition legal editor Rakesh Bhatnagar, Shivani’s murder has returned to the limelight this year after being in limbo for over two years. Mrs Sharma’s husband, RK Sharma, IGP (prisons), posted in Chandigarh, has a non-bailable warrant issued against him and has been “missing” for over a month now. His plea to stay his arrest has been rejected by various courts several times.
Though Advani came out in support of Mahajan today when he stated that allegations levelled against his colleague are “baseless” and the work of “vested interests”, the stand seems contrary to what Mrs Sharma has alleged.
Mrs Sharma has alleged that the Delhi Police are putting undue pressure on the Sharma family at the behest of the home ministry so that RK Sharma spells out Mahajan’s alleged involvement in the murder case.
If that is so, then the home ministry wants that the politicians’ names should come out in the open in connection with this now three-year-old unsolved murder case and it also indicates that may be Mahajan and Advani are not as close as is being painted by the BJP in the media , a political analyst said.
But topping the worry-list is the Communications and Convergence Bill which could have been okayed during the next session of Parliament subsequent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and telecommunication presenting its report on the Bill.
But now with BJP politicians being named in a murder case, the next session is likely to echo with similar matters with the Opposition baying for Mahajan’s blood – something which, surprisingly, has not been done by the Opposition till now.
I&B Ministry
Digital radio, D2M tech set to reshape broadcasting and public messaging
Govt pushes next-gen delivery while TRAI tightens grip on spam ecosystem
NEW DELHI: India’s broadcasting and telecom landscape is undergoing a quiet but significant upgrade, with digital radio and Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technologies emerging as powerful tools for mass communication, while regulators step up efforts to tackle spam calls.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, digital radio and D2M are poised to transform how content reaches audiences by making more efficient use of spectrum. In simple terms, multiple channels can now be delivered over a single frequency, opening the door to a wider range of free-to-air content.
D2M technology takes this a step further by enabling video, audio and data to be broadcast directly to mobile handsets without relying on SIM cards or mobile data. The result is a resilient and cost-effective data pipe that can deliver everything from entertainment and education to critical emergency alerts, even in low-connectivity scenarios.
At the same time, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is tightening its grip on unsolicited commercial communication, better known as spam calls. The regulator has deployed a distributed ledger technology platform to bring transparency and accountability into the system.
Through this blockchain-based setup, consumers can register their preferences on receiving promotional messages, while businesses and telemarketers must also sign up and operate within defined rules. The platform also includes a complaint mechanism that allows users to report spam, with complaints shared across telecom operators for coordinated action.
The government’s broader push is being supported by infrastructure upgrades under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development scheme. Implemented through Prasar Bharati, the initiative focuses on modernising networks such as Akashvani and Doordarshan, including digitisation and adoption of next-generation broadcast equipment.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan said these steps are part of a larger effort to promote emerging technologies and strengthen the country’s broadcasting backbone. The response came to a query raised by member of Parliament Rao Rajendra Singh.
Together, these developments point to a dual-track strategy: expanding access to reliable, low-cost content while cleaning up the communication ecosystem. As digital pipes get smarter and spam filters sharper, India’s airwaves may soon feel a lot less noisy and far more useful.
