I&B Ministry

All markets need regulation: Abernathy

Published

20 years ago

September 29, 2005

MUMBAI: The government and the regulator might be having to take a fair degree of flak over the direction it is providing the industry but take the opinion of the US regulator and one gets an interesting point of view.

Which is that by and large India is on the right track in this area.

Federal Communications Commission (the United States regulator) commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, speaking on the sidelines of the first ever India Television Summit, organised by Indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia, covered a wide range of issues. But one overarching point that came through was that if “you look at where India is compared to other countries, it is one of the shining stars. When it comes to broadband and telecom and competition and choice, I’ve been very impressed,” Abernathy said.

This might well provide a sense of perspective to an increasingly agitated broadcast sector straining at the leash over its inability to leverage the opportunities a rapidly exploding economy provides.

Commenting on the issue of content control Abernathy said, “Every country has to decide this content issue on their own, based on their culture and their values. I think it is up to the government to decide at what point is it harming their culture and at what point is it free speech so you don’t want to curtail it. This idea of having to protect children and cultures is a very valid line of argument for all governments.

“And most successful companies will learn to accommodate the needs of other countries otherwise they will not be welcome in those countries.”

Speaking on the role of the regulator, Abernathy said, “Ensuring that you have a regulatory environment that allows more investment and innovation and the introduction of new services. That is essentially what all regulators want. We sometimes come with different answers because of different economics and cultures.

“All regulators fundamentally understand the importance of new technologies in bettering the situation of their respective populations.

The regulators’ role is to ensure that the environment is more friendly for investments to flow into different technologies and platforms.

“What we in the US are doing is also to encourage the use of technologies that bring more control in the hands of the parents over what their children can and should watch. For instance, there is a new remote out in the market that not only allows for the restriction of what programmes can be watched but also for how many hours and what time.”

On the question of whether India is far from regulated compared to the developed countries, she pointed out, “I am very impressed with how India has dealt with these issues. When I look at all the steps that have been taken to encourage investment and innovation, if you look at where India is compared to other countries it is one of the shining stars. When it comes to broadband and telecom and competition and choice, I’ve been very impressed. “

“From what I know, by and large the government and the regulator both have been on the right track as far as regulation is concerned.

Abernathy had some words of appreciation for the direction being provided by the Indian regulator Trai and its chairman Pradip Baijal. “I know in my country and in this country the debate over content can get very emotional as it should because it goes to your culture. But if you look at the long term effect on the country to be provide jobs, education and new technology, well it is definitely heading in the right direction. And a lot of that is owed to the head of the regulator (Trai chairman Pradip Baijal). I think he’s taken a little bit of stick in India but that’s normal because most of the time when you’re a regulator you’re thinking about where you want your country to be in five or ten years while everyone else is thinking about today.”

“As a regulator all that I really care about is that you have enough competitive forces so that you have to deliver quality and value to consumers.”

To the query whether having no cross media restrictions help at all, she put it succinctly. “Well certainly, we are not ready to do that in the US.”

Related Topics:Abernathy All markets Need Regulation

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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

3 weeks 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

2 months 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

3 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.