Content material of nationwide significance, safety clearance for key posts: What’s in I&B ministry’s draft guidelines for TV, radio | India Information
3 min learnNew DelhiJun 13, 2026 02:27 PM IST
TV channels ought to air half-hour of content material every day between 6 am and 11 pm on themes of nationwide significance, personal FM stations ought to broadcast no less than an hour of programme of “social relevance”, and appointments of key managerial personnel ought to be made after safety clearance: These are a number of the draft guidelines the Info & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has printed for the telecommunications sector.
The draft Telecommunications (Tv, Radio and Related Providers) Guidelines, 2026, consolidate numerous current pointers governing tv, radio, and associated providers, changing the regulatory framework that operated below the Telegraph Act of 1885. Stakeholders have been invited to submit feedback on the draft guidelines by July 27.
The proposed guidelines will cowl tv channels, Direct-to-House (DTH) providers, Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) platforms, teleport, personal FM radio, group radio stations, information businesses supplying footage to tv, and Web Protocol Tv (IPTV) providers below the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
The foundations mandate that TV channels ought to air no less than half-hour of content material day-after-day on themes of nationwide significance and social relevance between 6 am and 11 pm. The matters advised vary from training, agriculture and healthcare to science, girls’s welfare, environmental safety and nationwide integration.
Tv channels would even be required to remain energetic all through the validity of their authorisation, in response to the draft guidelines. Channels going off air for greater than 60 consecutive days should notify the federal government and supply a proof of the explanations, they added. Their authorisation can lapse if operations stay suspended for over 90 steady days.
Personal FM stations would want to broadcast no less than an hour of programmes of “social relevance” whereas guaranteeing that no less than 20% of their every day content material is regionally produced.
The foundations state that non-public radio providers should stay free-to-air, emphasising they can not cost listeners for entry.
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The draft guidelines suggest an authorisation interval of 10 years for tv channels, teleports, tv information businesses and group radio providers, 15 years for personal FM radio operators, and 20 years for tv channel distribution providers.
The draft guidelines state that the entities that already maintain web service authorisations or multi-system operator registrations would be capable to provide IPTV providers after they file a declaration with the federal government, thus simplifying their market entry.
IPTV allows the supply of tv content material over web protocol networks as a substitute of transmitting over conventional terrestrial, satellite tv for pc, or cable tv codecs.
Considerably, the guidelines mandate broadcasters to reveal data associated to “landing-page placements” to each the federal government and tv rankings businesses.
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Different compliance-related necessities embrace preservation of recordings of programmes and ads for 90 days by broadcasters and furnishing them to authorities when requested. The foundations additionally state that any possession change that results in key administration modifications would want authorities approval prematurely.
The foundations mandate that broadcasters, key managerial personnel and governing physique members would want safety clearance until the time their authorisations are legitimate.
International personnel concerned in set up, upkeep or operation of broadcasting networks would additionally want safety clearance earlier than deployment.
