I&B Ministry
ZILS sights break-even; announces tie-up with Karnataka government
The newspapers are filled with reports about the ongoing slowdown in the infotech sector. Nonetheless Zee Interactive Learning Systems (ZILS), which is less than two years old, says that it is all set to break even by next year with a turnover of Rs 1 billion.
ZILS is the wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Telefilms. In a Rs 20-billion information technology education market, ZILS claims to have crossed the Rs 300 million mark for the year 2000-2001 and is bullish on hitting Rs 3 billion by 2004.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government has chosen the company to be its training partner in the `Mahithi Sindhu’ scheme. The Karnataka government saw value in ZILS’s credible alliances, domain knowledge, technology expertise and experience in generating multimedia content, a company spokesperson said.
Under the `Mahithi Sindhu’ scheme, ZILS will implement computer based education in 1,000 government high schools. The company will develop software for the subject – Science from Standards VIII – X. Side by side teachers will be trained.
All this is part of the initiative of The Department of State Education Research & Training. DSERT is a body of the Karnataka government which is responsible for implementing computer-based education to government high schools in the state.
The software installed will be in English and Kannada. So students will find it easy to follow and they will be able to use it in an effective manner. The software will entertain and educate through interactive features, animation, voiceover, graphics, pop-up questions. There will also be video clips based on imaginative analogies and components locally available and which children notice in day to day existence.
ZILS CEO Dilip Mahapatra had these remarks to make: The Schools Board prepares the syllabus, the course structure and conducts the examinations. We provide the infrastructure for conducting the courses. We make these courses interactive. IT education is becoming an integral part of most of the upper crust schools. We have identified 15,000 schools in the country that are imparting IT education or are planning to introduce it in the near future.”
Besides this ZILS has already prepared customised multimedia courses in Mathematics, Science and English for Standard VIII – X. This is aimed at the CBSE, ICSE and SSC boards. Right now the company is working on preparing the course in Geography. ZILS plans to provide software to the schools abroad.
ZILS also offers Information Technology solutions for teachers and school’s management. ZILS has developed an Internet-based software. Therefore the school’s task of track a student’s progress based on their mark sheets, home assignments, attendance and discipline records is made all the more easy.
The company has also made its mark in the corporate world. It claims to have trained Insurance agents from companies like Reliance, ICICI- Lombard, Bajaj Allianz and Royal Sundaram. Zee Interactive Learning Systems is the training partner of Institute of Company Secretary of India (ICSI) for training students pursuing the Company Secretary course.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati opens AIR to private content under new policy
NIPP introduces revenue share, sponsored and gratis models
MUMBAI: Radio may be the oldest voice in the room, but it’s learning some very modern tricks. In a bid to stay tuned to changing listener habits, Prasar Bharati has opened the doors of All India Radio to private players under a newly rolled-out content framework. The initiative, titled Notice Inviting Programme Proposals (NIPP), marks a significant shift in how the public broadcaster approaches programming moving from a largely in-house model to a more collaborative, market-aligned ecosystem. Issued by Akashvani’s Directorate General in April 2026, the policy invites private producers, content owners and aggregators to pitch programmes across formats, from radio dramas and documentaries to quiz shows, storytelling and music-led content.
At the heart of the framework lies a three-pronged participation model designed to balance creative freedom with commercial viability. The most prominent route is revenue sharing, where advertising and sponsorship income generated by a programme is split between the producer and the broadcaster. The structure tilts in favour of creators offering a 70:30 split when producers bring in advertising, and 65:35 when monetisation is handled by Prasar Bharati.
Alongside this sits the sponsored model, where producers fully fund and monetise their content, subject to compliance with advertising norms and the AIR Broadcast Code. For those less commercially inclined, a gratis route allows content to be submitted free of cost, with Prasar Bharati retaining all monetisation rights effectively turning the platform into a national distribution channel for diverse voices.
The move comes as legacy media grapples with intensifying competition from private FM networks, streaming platforms and digital audio ecosystems. By repositioning AIR as both a public service broadcaster and a content marketplace, Prasar Bharati appears to be recalibrating its role in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Importantly, the framework does not dilute editorial control. All submissions must adhere to the AIR Broadcast Code, and proposals are evaluated through a layered process that weighs storytelling quality, production capability, audience appeal and revenue potential. Only proposals crossing a defined threshold move forward, signalling that while access has widened, the bar remains firmly in place.
Operational discipline is another cornerstone of the policy. Producers are required to maintain broadcast-ready content, deliver episode banks in advance and navigate a structured approval process. Crucially, all production costs are borne by the content provider, reinforcing Prasar Bharati’s positioning as a distribution and oversight platform rather than a commissioning entity.
What elevates the initiative further is its scale. The framework spans multiple clusters and stations across India, covering both metro and regional markets, with specific language mandates and submission channels. This not only expands the content pipeline but also deepens linguistic and cultural representation, an area where AIR has historically held an advantage.
In effect, NIPP signals a quiet but meaningful transformation. AIR is no longer just broadcasting to the nation, it is inviting the nation to broadcast with it, blending legacy reach with contemporary content economics in a bid to stay relevant in an increasingly fragmented audio universe.
