Creative freedom and OTT regulation:

Freedom of expression including creative freedom is protected under Article 19 of the Constitution.

To address the negative effects of harmful content on OTT platforms, Government has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media, Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 on 25.02.2021 under IT Act, 2000.

● Part-III of the rules provides for a Code of Ethics for digital news publishers and publishers of online curated content (OTT platforms).

●  OTT platforms are under obligation not to transmit any content which is prohibited by law for the time being in force.

These rules further provide a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism as follows:

Level I: Self-regulation by the publishers

Level II: Self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers

Level III - Oversight mechanism by the Central Government

Complaints received by the Ministry are forwarded to the concerned OTT platforms for resolution as per IT Rules, 2021.

Following due consultations with relevant Ministries, Government has blocked 43 OTT platforms for displaying obscene content.

Government advertisements:

Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) issues advertisements of Government of India across various media platforms, including newspapers, TV/radio, outdoor, digital media, etc.

To ensure wide coverage of intended message, detailed policy guidelines have been issued in respect of various media such as print, audio-visual, digital, outdoor publicity, etc. These guidelines are available on the CBC website cbcindia.gov.in.

Promotion of AVGC-XR sector:

AVGC-XR includes Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality Sector.

Government of India recognises the AVGC-XR sector as a one of the core component of India’s creative ecosystem. A National AVGC‑XR Task Force, constituted in April 2022 has laid down the strategic roadmap for promotion of the sector.

Important initiatives of Government for AVGC sector are as follows:

World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit 2025

● Held in Mumbai from 1st to 4th May 2025 to position India as a global hub for media and entertainment.

● Create in India Challenge: A nationwide next-generation creative talent hunt across 34 creative categories like animation, gaming, AR/VR and music. It attracted over 1 lakh registrations from creators across the world.

● Featured initiatives such as WAVES Bazaar, WaveX accelerator connecting creators to investors & enabling wider access to markets and mentorship.

● Provided masterclasses and mentorships in storytelling, AI, XR, and digital content creation.

Establishment of Indian Institute of Creative Technologies

IICT has been established as a premier institute for the creative technologies, focusing on industry-oriented curriculum and global best practices.

● Rs 392.85 Cr has been allocated for the development and operations of IICT.

● IICT is modelled on the lines of IITs and IIMs, for creative technologies.

● It has signed MoUs with major global companies including Google, Meta, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, WPP, etc. for academic collaboration

● IICT provides advanced training for professionals and trainers in AVGC-XR domains.

● The inaugural academic offering includes four specialized courses in Gaming, four courses in Post Production and nine courses in Animation, Comics and XR.

● Further details are available on the website https://theiict.in.

 This information was submitted by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha today

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Dharmendra Tewari/ Navin Sreejith