I&B Ministry

Comment: MIB’s botched whip on fake news akin to testing waters

Published

8 years ago

April 5, 2018

With the scourge of fake news rampant globally, any attempt to counter it is always a welcome move. And just for that India’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani cannot be faulted even if such a view is radical and would be open to severe criticism-as it was in India over the last few days with a large section of civil society coming down like a ton of bricks on the minister’s assertions on guidelines for TV and print media journalists that proposed punitive penalties for breaching some undefined norms.

However, the wording of the press statement put out by the government’s PR arm, Press Information Bureau, on behalf of MIB is what raises questions.

First, the government statements were aimed at “regulating” fake news and not look at avenues to arrest their spread or, as the homoeopathy strand of medicine would do, go to the root cause of the ailment. The intent becomes clear: the aim was not really to find a solution to fake news in the true sense.

Second, the timing of the guidelines, which were aimed at handing out harsh penalties to government accredited journalists from the print and electronic media, rings some more alarm bells. Though the present BJP-led government’s official five-year tenure ends mid-2019, it is widely expected that the general elections would be held before the tenure comes to an end officially—as is mostly done, but then this government has been known to break many times tested norms-if not as early as late 2018.

On both these counts, the honourable MIB minister was found wanting and her move was widely dubbed as nothing but an initiative to gag the news media critical of the present government. That the prime minister himself had to step in to order a rollback of the MIB diktat a day later, as officially being stated, is a story in itself.

Let’s forget for once what some of the journalistic organisations had to say in criticism of the MIB move to cancel accreditation of journalists found peddling fake news, though the definition of fake news was not elaborated, nor was the fact as to why just on a complaint from practically anybody a journalist, whose antecedents are verified by the government annually for security reasons, will be put in the hall of shame even if it’s for varied period of time.

Two organisations, the Press Council of India (PCI) and the News Broadcasters Association of India (NBA), made responsible to decide whether the complaint on fake news was genuine or not (according to the government statement) have not much legal standing or bandwidth to do so. While the PCI is a (toothless) watchdog for the print medium, the NBA’s self-regulatory mechanism for member-TV news channels hasn’t always worked.

Now let’s try analysing what could have prompted such a move by MIB-a move that was unveiled seemingly without taking into confidence the PM and his office.

It’s a known fact in India, in sharp contrast to other global markets, that a TV news channel here is started, more often than not, to flaunt one’s status symbol and increase the owner’s powers (both politically and financially) rather than being a pure journalistic means. That is not saying there are no exceptions to the rule and India has some very fine and professional news channels, which daily go through the grind of living up to the high standards of journalism. But, what explains the fact that 25-30 per cent of the total 900-odd permitted TV channels in India would fall in the news and current affairs genre? And they come in all shapes, sizes and languages. If the big guns of the news and current affairs genre mostly have scarlet bottom lines, it goes without saying that the smaller news channels are barely churning out revenue. No other country in the world has so many TV news channels.

In a year that will lead to general elections-a period after the elections are announced is when cacophony on TV news channels start peaking-clamping down on news outlets cannot be considered a bad strategy; especially when one is not used to hear criticism. Artificial barriers become natural armours. Putting on hold future permission to TV channels by the MIB till a new policy on uplink/downlink is put in place after regulator TRAI’s recommendations is one such clampdown. But then trying to gag the news media as a whole need to be thought out and well orchestrated instead of merely announcing one evening some guidelines under the garb of attempting to regulate fake news.

And why regulate fake news? Does that mean some fake news could have been allowed, while filtering out the more damaging ones? More importantly, why target those journalists for fake news who are accredited by the government? Did that mean that non-accredited journalists, which are in huge numbers, would have been allowed to dabble in fake news? Considering most news websites and many online ventures that pretend to deal in news but hand out mostly tainted views are not accredited with the government, either at the federal or State level, the question arises whether they would have been allowed to peddle fake news? In India, fake news is more rampant on social media platforms and little known online ventures than in mainstream media.

But Ms. Irani and her set of advisors again cannot be faulted to try regulating the news media. From the days of the infamous Emergency unleashed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the mid-70s to her son Rajiv Gandhi in the late 1980s and few other successive governments of post-independent, India has tried to muzzle at some time or other the not-so-perfect-yet-a-vibrant media of the country. Not only such moves have backfired, including the dark days of the Emergency, but in many cases the then governments had to beat a retreat in the face of stiff opposition to any such move. So much so, folklore in the complex realm of Indian politics says that all governments that tried to regulate media in any form bit the dust and were booted out of power.

In the mid to late 1990s, just before the first NDA government came to power under Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, the then government had tried to bring in Parliament a Broadcasting Bill, envisaging wide-ranging limits to media businesses, including cross-media restrictions of ownerships. That government didn’t remain in power to see through the proposed legislation. However, that didn’t stop other governments, including the Congress-led coalitions that ruled for 10 years after 2004, to attempt limiting media independence. Manish Tiwari, a former MIB minister in 2013, had famously proposed a common examination for journalists as the minister thought media personnel were not qualified enough.

Cut to 2018. The storm may have blown over for the time being, but for the media to sit back and relax could be dangerous. Simply because the present government is unlike any those in the past. To take satisfaction from an explanation that the PM was totally unaware of one of his minister’s moves to gag the media could be a bad strategy for the media industry. The government was just testing the waters.

Also Read :

PMO directs MIB to withdraw guidelines on fake news

MIB nod to TV channels on hold till TRAI uplink, downlink suggestions

Smriti Irani tweets industry body advisory urging restraint by TV news channels

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I&B Ministry

MIB sets OTT accessibility rules, mandates captions and audio description

Platforms get three years to add features for hearing and visually impaired

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: The government has asked OTT platforms to make their shows easier to watch and hear. A new set of accessibility guidelines from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting requires streaming services to add features for viewers with hearing and visual impairments.

The move follows the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and is meant to bring streaming closer to the promise of equal access. In simple terms, if a film or series is coming to an OTT platform, it should not arrive empty-handed. It should come with captions for those who cannot hear well and audio descriptions for those who cannot see clearly.

The guidelines ask platforms to provide at least one accessibility feature each for hearing-impaired and visually-impaired viewers. That could be closed captions, open captions, Indian Sign Language interpretation, or audio description. The aim is to make content understandable without turning the viewing experience into a technical chore.

There is, however, a long runway. Platforms have up to thirty six months from the date of the guidelines to ensure that all newly released content carries these accessibility features. Older titles in their libraries are not under strict timelines, but companies are encouraged to add features gradually.

The rules also go beyond the show itself. User interfaces, whether on mobile apps, smart TVs or websites, must be designed to work with assistive technologies. Accessibility labels such as CC for captions, AD for audio description and ISL for sign language must be displayed clearly so viewers know what to expect before pressing play.

Some content types get a free pass. Live events, music, podcasts, and short form content like ads are exempt because of practical challenges in real time captioning and description.

OTT publishers will also need to file accessibility conformance reports. The first report is due three years from now, followed by quarterly updates. Complaints from viewers will follow a three tier system, starting with the platform itself, moving to self-regulatory bodies, and finally reaching a government monitoring committee if needed.

For the streaming industry, the message is clear. Accessibility is no longer a nice extra tucked away in settings. It is fast becoming part of the main feature, and in a country where streaming audiences run into the hundreds of millions, that could make a very big difference to who gets to enjoy the show.

I&B Ministry

I&B’s 2025 report card: Lights, camera, action — and Rs 4,334 crore

Published

1 month ago

January 1, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: If 2025 was India’s year to make waves, the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) was its chief surfboard maker. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s call to “create in India, create for the world” wasn’t just ministerial hot air—it triggered a tsunami of creative dealmaking that swept from Melbourne to Madrid, generating Rs 4,334 crores in potential business discussions and putting Indian creators on every continent’s radar.

The centrepiece was Waves 2025, the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit, which drew over 90 countries, 10,000 delegates, and roughly 1 lakh punters through its doors. Modi himself dropped by to glad-hand young creators, describing the event as a “wave of culture, creativity and universal connectivity”—and for once, the hyperbole wasn’t entirely unwarranted.

The summit’s CreatoSphere platform, which sounds like something from a sci-fi novel but is actually a hub for film, VFX, animation, gaming, and digital media, launched the Create in India Challenges. Season one attracted over 1 lakh entries from more than 60 countries across 33 categories. Winners weren’t just handed certificates and sent packing—they performed at Melbourne, exhibited at Tokyo Game Show, and pitched at Toronto International Film Festival. I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnav handed out gongs to 150 creators, cementing the government’s commitment to nurturing what it calls the “creative economy.”

WaveX, the startup arm, proved equally industrious. It coaxed over 200 startups into its embrace, enabled 30 to pitch to Microsoft, Amazon, and Lumikai, and somehow got two of its charges—VYGR News and VIVA Technologies—onto Shark Tank India, where they presumably dodged the usual mauling. The initiative’s KalaaSetu and BhashaSetu challenges, focused on AI-driven video generation and real-time translation respectively, attracted over 100 startups and picked ten for collaboration with government media units.

Waves Bazaar, the “craft-to-commerce” global e-marketplace, went on a roadshow between August and December, hitting 12 international events across four continents and four domestic jamborees. The numbers are eye-watering: over 9,000 B2B meetings, 10 memoranda of understanding signed, three more proposed, and the launch of creative corridors with Japan, Korea, and Australia. The ministry claims Rs 4,334 crores in potential deals—potential being the operative word, though in India’s booming content market, optimism often precedes reality by only a few quarters.

On the bricks-and-mortar front, the Indian Institute of Creative Technology opened its temporary Mumbai campus in July with Rs 391.15 crores in budgetary support. The public-private partnership with Ficci and CII has enrolled over 100 students across 18 courses, incubated eight startups, and signed memoranda with Google, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and WPP—a who’s who of tech giants keen to tap India’s creative reserves. A permanent 10 acre campus at Film City, Goregaon, complete with an immersive AR/VR/XR studio, is in the works.

Elsewhere, the ministry set up a Live Events Development Cell to position India’s concert economy as a growth driver. A single-window clearance system is being built on the India Cine Hub platform to expedite permissions for fire, traffic, and municipal approvals—addressing the red-tape nightmares that have long plagued event organisers. Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial committee is tackling digital piracy, that perennial thorn in the creative economy’s side.

State broadcaster Doordarshan snagged the Election Commission’s media award for voter awareness during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, presented by the president on National Voters’ Day. Community radio added 22 new stations, bringing the total to 551, with workshops and a national sammelan held during Waves to strengthen local broadcasting.

The 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa screened over 240 films from 81 countries, threw in the country’s first AI Film Festival, and staged a grand parade through Panaji that turned the event into a street-level celebration. The accompanying Waves Film Bazaar drew over 2,500 delegates from 40-plus countries and showcased 320 projects—making it one of South Asia’s largest film markets.

The Central Board of Film Certification modernised too, launching a multilingual certification module that allows multiple language versions under a single application, and mandating 50 per cent women’s participation on examining and revising committees. Digital signatures replaced wet ink, and certificates became downloadable—small victories in the fight against bureaucratic inertia.

India’s I&B ministry ended 2025 having turned content creation into something resembling an industrial policy. Whether Rs 4,334 crores in “potential” business materialises remains to be seen, but the ministry has built the infrastructure, corralled the startups, and put Indian creators on international stages. As Modi might say, the wave has been ridden. Now comes the hard part: keeping the momentum going when the cameras stop rolling.

I&B Ministry

Centre drafts OTT rules to boost access for hearing disabled

Published

2 months ago

December 12, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: The Centre has inched closer to making India’s streaming universe easier to watch, hear and enjoy for everyone. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has released draft guidelines that aim to standardise accessibility on OTT platforms, ensuring that viewers with hearing and visual impairments are no longer left out of the country’s digital entertainment boom.

Issued on 7 October and now open for public consultation, the draft rules arrive with constitutional and global backing. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan told the Rajya Sabha that the framework draws from Article 14, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. It also mirrors the Code of Ethics under the IT Rules, 2021.

At the heart of the proposal is a two-phase rollout of mandatory accessibility tools such as same-language closed captions and audio descriptions. The ministry said penalties and enforcement steps will be shaped after the consultation, but compliance will be tracked through progressive targets for OTT content libraries.

Parliament was also reminded that the broadcast sector has walked this path before. In 2019, the government notified accessibility standards for television programming, starting with Prasar Bharati and eventually extending them to private broadcasters.

With OTT viewership climbing across urban and small-town India, the draft rules attempt to bring streaming giants in step with a wider vision of inclusive media. The government hopes the move will help millions of Indians with disabilities press play without barriers.