Information and Broadcasting Ministry News

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry ordered a suspension of all such controversial deodorant advertisements and said that an inquiry is being held as per the advertising code, ANI reported

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday blocked 16 YouTube news channels for spreading misinformation and content related to India’s national security, foreign relations and public order, reported ANI.

PUBG was among over 100 China-origin mobile applications banned by the government last year. The Minister for Information and Broadcasting said his ministry has decided to form a gaming centre to teach courses related to VFX, gaming and animation so that new games are developed that promote Indian cultural ethos. He said many games played on mobile and other gadgets are "violent, explicit, addictive and tend to create a complex in the mind of children".

At the outset, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj said the Centre was contemplating some action on the issue of regulating OTT platforms. The CJI sought to know from Nataraj as to what would be the action from the government and asked him to file the response in six weeks while tagging the matter with the pending petition. None of the OTT/Streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, and Hotstar have signed the self-regulation provided by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting since February 2020, the plea said.

'Tandav' has become the first web-series which has been guided by the MIB to regulate its content. Although the central government is backing the move to form a separate self-regulatory board for OTT content. Another web-series 'A Suitable Boy' by Mira Nair irked many for hurting religious sentiments.

The Centre on Wednesday issued an order bringing online news portals and content providers under the I&B Ministry. The notification was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday. It is to be noted that currently there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content.

The advisory to private television channels has been received well by society, said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. 

A day after reports of Centre's proposal to install chips in set-top boxes emerged, the Congress accused Bharatiya Janata Party of citizen's breaching privacy. Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a Twitter post, accused the government of intruding into people's “bedroom”.

A senior official of the ministry said the move is aimed to get "more authentic" viewership figures for every channel.

TV channels last week were asked not to air advertisements selling and promoting condoms because these are "indecent especially for children" and can create "unhealthy practices" among them.

Union textile minister Smriti Irani was on Tuesday given the additional charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting while Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh was handed over the charge of Urban Development. 

The ministries of Telecom and Information and Broadcasting have agreed to use over 200 MHz spectrum earmarked for broadcasting services, the majority of which is with Doordarshan, for advance mobile services.

The I&B Ministry on Monday reconstituted the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB) cards to journalists.

A fourth meeting on Saturday between officials of the I&B Ministry and striking students of the FTII failed to break the impasse over the stir.

A committee constituted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to look into the affairs of FTII is believed to have given a clean chit to its Director Prashant Pathrabe on the issue of assessment of the 2008 batch saying his actions were valid and in line with Academic Council's decisions taken earlier.

Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley Friday said that Phase-III auctions of FM Radio will 'boost' the radio news sector in the country and reach out to smaller towns and cities providing quality information to the audiences.

Officials said that an Application Review Committee, which yesterday met, has rejected the applications of the companies belonging to the Sun TV group, which had failed to get a security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.