Four themes more or less dominated an interesting panel discussion on media and entertainment at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum yesterday. 1) India is underadvertised. The country’s ad spends to GDP ratio is 0.55, while the global average is 0.86 and in the US, it’s 1.18…

The ministry of information and broadcasting has floated a cabinet note on the fledgeling FM radio sector, recommending an increase in foreign direct investment limit and allowing news on the radio waves. I&B minister Ambika Soni, speaking at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit this evening, said the proposal…

The government is working on “drastically amending” the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867, which regulates the print media in the country and a draft of the new Act will be made available by March 2010, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni today said (via Business Standard).

The Times of India reported on Saturday that VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) service provider Skype is likely headed for a standoff with the Indian government after it refused to part with its encryption code. The country’s intelligence agencies have been asking the government to ban or regulate VoIP services…

Broadcaster NDTV Ltd has decided to discontinue its ads-for-equities business, after striking deals with four companies, including Emaar MGF and the Delhi Stock Exchange. The firm holds a portfolio of Rs35-40 crore, according to a person with knowledge of the development, who asked not to be named. NDTV CEO K.V.L.…

In a rare and rather unusual development, the ministry of home affairs is moving to take legal action against two reporters of The Times of India, according to The Hindu, the Press Trust of India and The Indian Express. The offending story—Two ITBP Jawans Injured In China Border Firing—ran on…

Two petitions have been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking to stop the telecast of controversial game show Sach Ka Saamna on Star Plus. A single-member bench adjourned the case earlier today and referred the matter to a division bench headed by chief justice A.P. Shah. The matter will…

In a meeting with representatives of the television industry yesterday, I&B minister Ambika Soni said she has no intention of imposing any kind of censorship on the media, according to a person who attended the meeting. The person asked not to be named. Soni told the delegates that the times…

In Pakistan, it turns out, if you forward an SMS joke about President Asif Ali Zardari, you’ll have little to laugh about for 14 years. Pakistan interior minister Rahman Malik said last week that the country’s Federal Investigation Agency will trace down SMSes and emails that slander the political leadership,…

The government will set up an ambitious information technology network, connecting some 14,000 police stations, some 6,200 key government offices such as passport offices and immigration counters, as well as courts. The Rs2,000 crore project was approved by the planning commission yesterday, TOI reports. (Image: Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek…

The government has appointed Raghu Menon as the top-ranking official overseeing media and entertainment industries at the ministry of information and broadcasting. The 1974-batch IAS officer from the Nagaland cadre will replace Sushma Singh, who retired in May. Tourism secretary Jawahar Sircar was holding additional charge of I&B thus far.…

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee delivered a budget that brought some cheer and some additional taxation to the media sector. Key points: 1) Fringe Benefit Tax abolished: This was a key demand from many players in contentSutra’s Wishlist For The New I&B Minister. Many key overheads for media houses, such as…

India’s government has banned popular toon porn site Savitabhabhi.com. According to documents seen by contentSutra.com, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has asked all Internet Service Providers to block the website in a communication dated 3 June. The Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA),…

While we thought the launch of Financial Times facsimile edition in India would not happen till the legal tangles over its title is resolved, the paper has received government clearance for the title ‘Financial Times Facsimile’ and may launch sooner than expected. The Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI), in…

The government is considering amendments to the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, to make the process of registering titles for newspapers and periodicals smoother and facilitate foreign publications that want to bring out Indian editions, reports PTI. This was indicated to a media delegation by the new minister…

From PTI, via Business Standard: Promising to take up all issues related to the media industry in a transparent manner, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni today said she would pursue the matter after consultations with stakeholders concerned.    “I will speak to all the stakeholders concerned on…

Jawahar Sircar, culture secretary to the government of India, has been given additional charge of the ministry of information and broadcasting. He replaces Sushma Singh, who retired on 31 May. Sircar, a 1975 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service from the West Bengal cadre, will hold the additional charge…

Even as the prime minister and 19 ministers of the new cabinet will be sworn in at the Rashrtapati Bhawan this evening, The Times of India reports that the government has taken its first concrete steps towards regulating news content online—a move that has been in the works for long.…

Reacting to the outcome of general elections that were known Saturday, India’s markets breached the upper circuit within a minute of opening trade on Monday and had to be halted for the day when they were reopened two hours later. In country-wide elections, whose results were announced on Saturday, the…