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Tag: I&B

  • I&B special secretary Neerja Sekhar promoted as DG of National Productivity Council

    I&B special secretary Neerja Sekhar promoted as DG of National Productivity Council

    MUMBAI: Special secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) Neerja Sekhar has finally got the rank of secretary in the  Indian government. Excepting she has been moved to the National Productivity Council (NPC) as director general with the secretary rank, according to whispersinthecorridors.

    The NPC falls under the department for promotion of industry and internal trade which in turn comes under the ministry of commerce.

    Sekhar, from the 1993 IAS batch of the Haryana cadre, had been appointed additional secretary at the MIB in November 2020, replacing Atul Kumar Tiwari.

    The current MIB secretary is Sanjay Jaju  (from the 1992 IAS batch) who took over the role on 5 February 2024. 

  • NDTV Indian of the Year 2024 to celebrate trailblazers shaping modern India

    NDTV Indian of the Year 2024 to celebrate trailblazers shaping modern India

    MUMBAI: NDTV Indian of the Year returns with its much-anticipated 2024 edition, celebrating exceptional Indians whose remarkable contributions have left a lasting impact on the nation and beyond. With its legacy as the pioneer of the Indian of the Year platform, NDTV continues to spotlight extraordinary achievers across diverse domains such as politics, business, sports, entertainment, and more. The theme for this year, ‘Celebrating India – Inspiring Excellence’, encapsulates the spirit of innovation and achievement propelling the country forward.

    The prestigious event, set to take place on 6 December 2024 in New Delhi, will feature a stellar line-up of luminaries and leaders across various fields, highlighting the immense talent and achievements that define modern India. Attendees will include prominent personalities like External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar, I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal, business stalwarts such as Gautam Hari Singhania and Roshni Nadar Malhotra, actors Rajkummar Rao and Ananya Panday, and the multi-talented entertainer Kapil Sharma, among others.

    Past editions of the NDTV Indian of the Year have celebrated icons who have shaped India’s narrative, including cultural legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, Chandrayaan-3 visionaries, and tech luminary Satya Nadella. This year’s event promises to continue the tradition by recognising individuals who embody innovation, resilience, and excellence.

    The 2024 edition boasts a distinguished jury featuring RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, chairman, Sanjiv Goenka, veteran actor Asha Parekh, advertising guru Piyush Pandey, former supreme court judge A.K. Sikri, former Sebi chairman U.K. Sinha, and former chief of the Naval Staff, Karambir Singh. Supporting the jury’s deliberations, Grant Thornton serves as the trusted Consulting Partner.

    The event will be aired live across the NDTV network on 6 December, showcasing the achievements of India’s finest talents and honouring their contributions to shaping the nation’s future.

    NDTV Indian of the Year 2024 stands as a grand celebration of excellence and the indomitable spirit of India, bringing together visionaries, innovators, and changemakers under one roof.
     

  • L. Murugan joins I&B as minister of state

    L. Murugan joins I&B as minister of state

    MUMBI: Even as all attention has been  focused on MeITy and railways minister Ashwini Vasihnaw getting additional oversight of the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB),  what has been under-reported is the   handing over  of the minister of state  position to L. Murugan in the same ministry. Murugan was earlier appointed as minister of state in 2021, prior to which he was the state president of the BJP IN Tamil Nadu.

    The 47 year old is a law graduate and a doctorate holder from the University of Madras who has been practising law for more than 15 years. He has been associated with the RSS since 1997, having served as the standing counsel to the Indian government at the Madras high court

    Murugan’s appointment should work well in favour of both the industry and Vaishnaw as a whole lot of regulations and decisions are pending with the ministry. 

  • I&B discusses strategies for unleashing M&E’s potential with industry experts

    I&B discusses strategies for unleashing M&E’s potential with industry experts

    Mumbai: Development of the audio-visual sector requires industry-friendly policies, collaboration, and regular interaction between the government and industry stakeholders.

    On Monday, a meeting in Mumbai was organised by the National Film Development Corp. where acclaimed filmmakers and industry professionals marked their presence, namely, Maddock Films founder Dinesh Vijan, Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta, Ayan Mukerji, R. Balki, Abundantia CEO Vikram Malhotra, Amazon Prime Video’s Gaurav Gandhi and Aparna Purohit, Netflix’s Monica Shergill, PEN India chairman Jayanti Lal Gada, Balaji Motion Pictures CEO Bhavini Sheth, Producers Guild of India president Shibasish Sarkar, Nitin Tej Ahuja CEO Producers Guild of India, and producers Mahaveer Jain & Madhu Mantena.

    The deliberations centred around the strategic initiatives taken by the government to unleash the potential of the media and entertainment industries. The I&B ministry’s efforts at easing filming in India through the Film Facilitation Office and the onboarding of Invest India to expand its outreach to the domestic and international industry were highlighted.

    The recently launched incentive scheme for international productions and official co-productions was discussed in detail, including the benefits it would bring to content creation in India. The industry was urged to leverage the FFO ecosystem and their suggestions on the incentives were duly noted.

    The government’s efforts to make the forthcoming 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India a success were emphasised, along with the opportunities being created for the industry. Feedback was sought on the amendments made in the Draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The feedback received from the industry participants was positive and they unanimously accepted the proposed amendments.

    The stakeholders were also apprised of the ministry’s recognition of the industry’s concern towards theatre density in India and the consequent development of a single window ecosystem and a model law for the ease of permission for construction of screens/theatres was in progress. The attention of the industry was drawn to many other interventions being made by the Ministry in the audio-visual sector.

    I&B secretary Apurva Chandra summed up the discussion as fruitful and said, “The engagement with industry served as a perfect opportunity to apprise the various stakeholders of the efforts being made by the ministry to give an impetus to the film industry. The response from the participants was encouraging and we have urged them to leverage these various platforms to support our endeavour to make India a global content hub.”

  • Amit Shah launches Doordarshan’s new serial ‘Swaraj- Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram ki Samagra Gatha’

    Amit Shah launches Doordarshan’s new serial ‘Swaraj- Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram ki Samagra Gatha’

    New Delhi: The mega historical new Doordarshan’s Hindi serial ‘Swaraj- Bharat Ke Swatantrata Sangram ki Samagra Gatha’ was launched by Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah on Friday.

    Launching the serial, he said the objective of “Swaraj” would be achieved in a true sense only if the country’s languages, dharma, culture and arts are preserved and its history passed on to future generations.

    Sharing his thoughts on this new show, Shah recalled the time stalwarts like Pandit Jasraj and Ustal Bismillah Khan had said that if it had not been for Akashwani, they would not have existed. “It is not possible to spread the expression of the essence of India without Doordarshan & All India Radio,” he said.

    The minister deliberated on the meaning of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and said it is not just a celebration of our freedom struggle but also of the achievements of the past 75 years since independence, of the sacrifices of the sung and unsung heroes of our freedom struggle.

    “This is also a time when we are visualizing the contours of the future of India and India is only going to attain greater heights of excellence from here,” he added.

    Swaraj is a 75 episode serial produced in 4K/HD quality and will air every Sunday from 9-10 pm on Doordarshan National from 14 August.

    It is being dubbed in nine regional languages along with English. The serial in regional languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali and Assamese will be broadcast on Doordarshan’s regional channels from 20 August. Starting from the landing of Vasco-da-gama in 1498 the serial presents a rich saga of the heroes of this land.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Anurag Thakur remarked that Doordarshan and All India Radio had done a commendable job of reviving the valiant stories of over 550 freedom fighters and enabling the acquaintance of the younger generations with these unsung heroes.

    Speaking about the serial, the minister said, “It is aimed at reimagining the vision behind the idea of swaraj and tell the stories of the leaders that moulded that idea into a reality. The serial is a manifestation of our pride in these heroes from the past. With satisfaction in his expressions, the minister stated that intense research had gone into making the serial and information and documents have been collected from all the corners of the country to bring to life these stories from our freedom struggle.”

    The Union Minister of State for I&B Dr L. Murugan, Secretary of I&B Apurva Chandra and Prasar Bharati CEO Mayank Agarwal were also present during the launch. Various members of parliament, senior officials of the ministry, Doordarshan and All India Radio news were present on the occasion.

    Speaking on the occasion, Prasar Bharti chief executive officer Mayank Agarwal said, “The serial will be broadcast on Akashwani along with Doordarshan.”

    Agarwal expressed his gratitude to the team behind the production of this serial for their extensive research and diligence.

  • Broadcasters cheer, as TRPs for news channels to resume after regulatory reboot

    Broadcasters cheer, as TRPs for news channels to resume after regulatory reboot

    Mumbai: After a year-long wait, the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) on Wednesday finally gave its go-ahead to Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India to immediately resume ratings for TV news channels, giving broadcasters a reason to cheer in the new year.

    As per the order, Barc India will have to release ratings for news and niche genres on a ‘four-week rolling average concept’ with immediate effect. But first, it will be required to share the last three months’ data which is expected to give some direction to news channels, and advertisers who had been taking a shot in the dark.

    “I welcome the government’s decision to finally resume ratings for the news genre,” said TV9 Network CEO Barun Das, terming the monthly ratings as the need of the hour. “I have for long been advocating the need to restore ratings while questioning the suspension decision in the first place. News Broadcasters Federation’s (NBF’s) efforts in this direction have been exemplary.”

    In February 2021, over 50 TV news channels had written to the then I&B minister Prakash Javadekar questioning the decision to single out the news genre for suspension.  “News genre commands 12 per cent of the total viewership and 18 per cent revenue of the industry. So, why is that the rating system which is bad for roughly 12 per cent of the TV industry, good for the rest 88 per cent?” Das had written in a separate letter.

    Also read: “Lakhs of livelihood at stake,” TV9 urges MIB to resume TRPs

    Also read : Over 50 TV news channels write to MIB over suspension of TRPs

    In a bid to restore confidence in Barc ratings, the I&B ministry also assured channels that the TV measurement body has undertaken revision in its processes, protocols, oversight mechanism and initiated changes in the governance structure. “The reconstitution of the Board and the Technical Committee to allow for the induction of Independent Members have also been initiated by Barc.  A permanent Oversight Committee has also been formed. The access protocols for data have been revamped and tightened,” the ministry stated.

    Taking a step further, MIB has also set up a ‘Working Group’ under the chairmanship of the Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati for the consideration of leveraging the Return Path Data (RPD) capabilities for the use of TRP services, as recommended by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the TRP Committee Report. The group will submit its report in four months’ time.

    “Happy that exactly a year later, the recommendations of the TRP committee report have been accepted by MIB India. Thankful to fellow members of the committee for the hard work put in. Looking forward to achieving cross-industry consensus on the use of Return Path Data (RPD) for TRPs,” tweeted Prasar Bharati CEO.

    Also read: I&B ministry forms Joint Working Group for audience measurement sampling

    The announcement was also welcomed by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA). In a statement, one of the members of the association, who is CEO of a news channel said, “NBA’s stand is vindicated as ministry stamps the room for improvement, acknowledges the deficiencies, and puts a timeline to ratings’ release and systematic corrections.”

    The news broadcasters also gave a thumbs up to the transition from weekly to monthly ratings. “I’m very much in favour of monthly ratings. I think news channels’ content cannot be moulded on the basis of ratings, like the way GECs content can be moulded,” said a senior representative from a national news channel. “The sole purpose of ratings is to give a measuring base to advertisers, and they take a minimum of two to three months to establish a fair and equitable representation of true trends. So, we don’t need ratings on a weekly basis.”

    According to industry representatives, the new ‘four-week rolling average concept’ will also be better equipped to deal with inconsistencies related to inadequate sample size.

    While the decision to scrap out weekly ratings got a positive response, some industry veterans also suggested that releasing news ratings quarterly or twice in a year would be a better proposition. “The global news industry is transforming itself into a “news product” that people can pay for. Ideally, the news genre should be subscription-oriented, as most newspapers are now these days. Globally too, that’s the trend – shifting to an advertising-driven, pay-TV model,” he said.

    The ministry’s go-ahead comes just weeks ahead of an intense election season in five states, including an electoral battle for India’s most populous state. With news channels, all geared up to grab maximum eyeballs, it will be interesting to see how the latest system of news ratings will change the game, especially with several new channels entering the race. “We will have to see whether the scenario has actually changed over the last year or not. But, hopefully, it will only get better from here,” said a senior representative from a news channel.

    The overhaul in the television rating system in India kickstarted in October 2020 when Mumbai Police claimed in a press briefing that they probed a case of manipulation of TRPs and found some incriminating evidence. The police said the accused were allegedly bribing the households to keep a particular channel running, leading to several arrests, and FIRs against three news channels.

    The controversy had forced Barc India to temporarily suspend the publishing of weekly data for news channels, which remained in limbo for over 1.3 years. “A pause was necessitated to enable the industry and Barc India to work closely to review its already stringent protocols and further augment them,” the then Barc India chairman Punit Goenka had said.

  • Govt ad spend on print falls by 54 % in last 3 years

    Govt ad spend on print falls by 54 % in last 3 years

    New Delhi: The government’s expenditure on print advertisements has dropped by almost 54 per cent in the last three years.

    According to the latest data presented in the Parliament, the government had spent Rs 429.55 cr in print advertisements in 2018-19, which decreased to Rs 295.05 cr in 2019-20, and further plummeted down to Rs 197.49 cr during the pandemic in 2020-21. The data was shared by the union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur during the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament.

    The ad-expenditure on electronic and digital media has also also recorded a significant drop over the last three years, said Thakur in a written response to a question raised by BJD MP Sasmit Patra. According to Thakur, the Centre spent Rs 514.29 crore on TV ads in 2018-19. In 2019-20, the allocation for ad expenditure on electronic media platforms was slashed to Rs 316.99 crore, which further came down to Rs 167.98 crore in 2020-21.

    All these expenditures refer to expenses incurred by the Bureau of Outreach and Communications (BOC), which acts as an advisory body to the government on its media strategy, and undertakes information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns of the government through its empanelled media platforms as per the policy guidelines.

    The plummeting ad spends by the government come at a time when the print industry is struggling to survive the pandemic’s severe blow. The print media thrives on advertisement expenditure of industries including e-commerce, automobiles, and finance, which were also impacted by the lockdown. Many businesses ended up pulling out advertisements, as part of budget cuts and also due to a drastic fall in the circulation of newspapers and magazines. The prolonged lockdown restrictions forced several publications to limit the number of pages, shut their editions and resort to layoffs.

    Last year, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) had also raised concerns over the rising newsprint and logistics costs and increasing preference for online content. It had also demanded a 50 per cent increase in government advertisement rates and a 200 per cent increase in the Centre’s spend on print media advertising and an immediate settlement of advertisement bills outstanding to both central and state governments.

  • I&B ministry may adopt TV rating committee’s recommendations : Anurag Thakur

    I&B ministry may adopt TV rating committee’s recommendations : Anurag Thakur

    New Delhi:  The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has analysed and evaluated the recommendations made by the committee led by Prasar Bharti chief executive officer Shashi Shekhar Vempati to review the current guidelines on TV rating agencies in India.

    The newly inducted I&B minister Anurag Thakur told the Lok Sabha on Friday, that the recommendations will be incorporated into the existing TV rating guidelines wherever required. “The recommendations have been analysed and evaluated vis-à-vis their being translated, if required, into the existing guidelines where-ever required,” said Thakur while responding to a question on the action-taken report of the said committee.

    The union minister said the existing guidelines have provisions like methodology for audience measurement, panel selection, viewing platform secrecy and privacy, data analysis, transparency etc. which are essential for a transparent and accountable rating system in India.

    The guidelines, inter-alia, prescribe that the panel homes shall be drawn from the pool of households selected through an establishment survey. The procedure adopted for selection and rotation of the panel homes shall be made transparent. Further, the panel size shall be increased in a graded manner and has to remain representative of all TV households in the country.

    The guidelines also prescribe that the rating agency shall publish the detailed methodology on its website. These parameters have been included in the existing guidelines to ensure transparency and representative collection of panel homes.

    “Based on the recommendations of the Committee headed by CEO, Prasar Bharati along with recommendations of TRAI, the present guidelines have been analysed / evaluated vis-à-vis strengthening of transparency / panel homes and other parameters,” the minister told the Parliament.

    The TV rating system in India came under scanner when in October 2020, the Mumbai police claimed in a press briefing that they had unearthed a case of manipulation of TRPs and found some incriminating evidence. The police said the accused were allegedly bribing households with BARC bar-o-meters installed to keep a particular channel running, leading to several arrests. In light of the controversy, BARC had temporarily suspended publishing of weekly data for news channels.

  • Big Cabinet Reshuffle: Prakash Javadekar steps down as I&B minister

    Big Cabinet Reshuffle: Prakash Javadekar steps down as I&B minister

    New Delhi: Prakash Javadekar has stepped down as the union minister of information and broadcasting, here on Wednesday. The decision is part of one of the biggest cabinet reshuffles during the second term of PM Narendra Modi-led government.

    Apart from Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad who held the portfolio of the ministry of electronics and information technology (meity) also submitted his resignation along with ten other ministers. The list also included the union minister of health and family welfare Harsh Vardhan. Javadekar also held charge for the ministry of environment, forest, and climate change.

    Later in the evening, as many as 43 new ministers took oath at Rashtrapati Bhawan, however, the new portfolios are yet to be announced. A total of 15 individuals were sworn in as ministers in the Union Cabinet and another 28 as ministers of state (MoS). The cabinet has now grown in strength from 54 to 78 ministers which include several new names, and representation from states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, and north-eastern states.

    There are 11 women in the new cabinet. Nisith Pramanik (35), the Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, is the youngest minister to be sworn in, while the oldest member in the council of ministers is 72-year-old Som Parkash. There are 78 members in the council of ministers now.

  • Centre moves SC seeking transfer of pleas challenging IT rules

    Centre moves SC seeking transfer of pleas challenging IT rules

    New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday approached Supreme Court seeking transfer of all pending pleas challenging its new IT rules to the apex court.

    Numerous petitions challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, are currently pending in various high courts across the country. The new rules notified on 25 February, came into effect on 26 May recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media.

    While the government has maintained that the new rules were introduced to make social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram more accountable and responsible for the content hosted on their platform, many have challenged the new rules over issues of privacy. Several petitions are pending in several courts, including the Delhi high court.

    In June, Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) , composed of digital arms of 13 leading media companies of the country had moved high court against the rules, which it said ” violate the fundamental right of equality (Article 14) and freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a)”.

    The Foundation of Independent Journalism (the non-profit company that publishes The Wire) and legal website, LiveLaw has also filed petitions against the new rules

    Meanwhile, Delhi high court has directed Twitter to inform it by 8 July as to when it will appoint a resident grievance officer in compliance with the new IT Rules after the microblogging platform informed court that it was in the process of doing so.

    The government had earlier announced that if significant social media intermediaries, those with more than 50 lakh registered users failed to comply with the new requirements by 25 May, they will lose their intermediary status. On Monday, the Centre, had filed an affidavit in the high court, stating that any non-compliance amounts to breach of provisions of IT Rules, leading to Twitter losing its immunity conferred under the IT Act.

    Under the new rules, the digital publishers are required to take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain. “They also need to constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves,” according to the ministry.