Page 2 - Information And Broadcasting Ministry

National AVGC-XR Policy to be implemented soon: I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju

Centre's decision to revamp 1,000 ITIs is "pivotal" in aligning workforce skills with AVGC industry needs, said Ministry of Skills & Entrepreneurship Secretary

Draft personal data protection rules likely in a month: Ashwini Vaishnaw

On the draft broadcasting bill, the Minister said that the government will have a fresh look, with much wider consultation

Cabinet approved infra projects worth nearly Rs 2 trn since June: Vaishnaw

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved five infrastructure projects to boost connectivity within cities through metro rail in Karnataka and assembly poll-bound Maharashtra and improving air connectivity to Bihar and north West Bengal. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government has approved infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 2 lakh crore since assuming office in June, making it clear that its priority was to generate jobs and boost connectivity to further economic growth. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, approved metro rail projects in Bengaluru in Karnataka, and Thane and Pune in Maharashtra, where assembly elections are due later this year. "It is our constant endeavour to ensure Maharashtra gets modern infrastructure," Modi said in a post on X, sharing details of the Cabinet decisions taken on Friday. The Phase-3 of the Bangalore Metro, comprising two corridors JP Nagar to Kempapura and Hoshahal

Reduce GST on online news subscriptions to 5%: MIB tells revenue dept

Printed newspapers, journals, and periodicals are presently exempted from the Goods and Services Tax while online news subscriptions at taxed at 18 per cent

Rethinking the Broadcast Bill

To prevent online video from mirroring linear TV, the Bill needs a thorough overhaul

I&B ministry extends feedback deadline for Broadcasting Bill to October 15

The draft of Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 was circulated for feedback as part of an ongoing consultation process that started in November 2023 with the upload of the initial draft

New broadcasting bill could label you as digital news reporter: Here's how

With the new broadcasting bill, the Centre is pushing for a consolidated legal framework to organise the broadcasting sector, replacing all the existing policies

WhatsApp not planning to shut services in India: I&B Minister Vaishnaw

WhatsApp and its parent company Meta has not informed the government of any plans to shut down its services in India, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha on Friday. "Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has shared that WhatsApp or Meta has not informed the government about any such plans," Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. Congress member Vivek Tankha had asked whether WhatsApp was planning to shut its services in India due to the government's directives to share user details. Earlier this year, WhatsApp had told the Delhi High Court that it will stop functioning in India if it was compelled by the government to break encryption of messages. WhatsApp and its parent company Meta had challenged the newly amended IT Rules contending that they violate the right to privacy and were unconstitutional. Responding to Tankha's question on curbs on social media platforms, Vaishnaw said the central government issues directions under Section

National Broadcasting Day 2024: History, significance, and future in India

National Broadcasting Day serves as a reminder of the legacy and significance of radio broadcasting as a mass communication medium. India celebrates this day annually on July 23

IT ministry asks tech firms to find age verification methods under data law

They have to 'figure out' how they want to implement age-gating requirement, says source

I&B ministry plans to set up mega Hollywood-like movie production studio

It will entail an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and be supported by the Centre

Centre to bring OTT, content creators under broadcasting regulations

Broadcasting Services Regulation (BSR) Bill latest updates: A draft Bill will likely be shared with stakeholders in the next few weeks

I&B ministry holds meet to talk revenue sharing by Big Tech firms

The government has been approached by the digital news publishers regarding abuse of dominant position by big tech players in ad-revenue share agreements

Govt asks advertisers to submit self-declaration certificate from June 18

The government on Monday asked all advertisers and advertising agencies to submit a self-declaration certificate making it clear that the advertisement does not contain misleading claims and adheres to regulatory guidelines. The self-declaration has to be submitted for all new print, digital, television and radio advertisements as required by a Supreme Court directive issued last month. The Supreme Court directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection, and responsible advertising practices, a statement by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said. The self-declaration certificate has to be uploaded on the Broadcast Seva Portal in case of TV and radio advertisements, and on the Press Council of India website for print, digital and internet advertisements, it added. The certificate has to be signed by an authorised representative of the advertiser/advertising agency. The certificate is required to be obtained by all advertisers and advertising agencies fo

MeitY's fresh advisory on AI does away with govt approval for AI platforms

The Ministry has also asked platforms to ensure that the biases arising out of their AI models or platforms do not hamper the electoral process in India

Ex-bureaucrat Navneet Kumar Sehgal appointed new Prasar Bharati chairman

Retired bureaucrat Navneet Kumar Sehgal has been appointed as the new Prasar Bharati chairman, a post that had been vacant for four years. Sehgal succeeds A Surya Prakash, whose term ended in February 2020 after he turned 70, the upper age limit for a person holding the post. "...the President, on the recommendation of the Selection Committee, is pleased to appoint Shri Navneet Kumar Sehgal, IAS (retd) as the Chairman of the Prasar Bharati Board with effect from the date of his assuming charge of the post for a term of three years or until he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier," an order dated March 15, 2024, issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday chaired a meeting to select the chairman of the country's public broadcaster. The vice president, who is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, heads the selection panel for the post of the Prasar Bharati chairman. The chairperson of the Press Council of In

New age-based ratings for films in Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024

The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 2024 were notified by the Centre on Friday, introducing an updated mechanism for film certification process in India

Govt bats for direct-to-mobile technology, pilots in 19 cities soon

Govt keen to launch by 2025 technology that can allow multimedia content on smartphones without active internet

Centre spent Rs 967.46 cr on ads in print media from 2019-24: Anurag Thakur

The government on Tuesday said it had spent Rs 967.46 crore through the Central Bureau of Communication for publicity of its schemes in the print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) releases awareness/publicity campaigns through print media in accordance with the Print Media Advertisement Policy, 2020. "The details of expenditure incurred by CBC, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, on awareness/publicity campaigns about schemes and programmes of the government of India through print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24 (till 12.12.2023) is Rs 967.46 crore," Thakur said. The minister said as of March 31, 2019, 1,19,995 periodicals, including newspapers, were registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The number was 1,43,423 in 2020, 1,44,520 in 2021, 1,46,045 in 2022 and 1,48,363 in 2023.

BBC World Service India to restructure shareholding for FDI norm compliance

In response to the Centre's FDI guidelines, BBC World Service India, 99.99 per cent owned by BBC, may initiate a shareholding restructuring, potentially involving stake offerings to key executives