Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has issued an advisory which asks any ministry/department of the central and state/UT governments and entities related to them to exit the broadcasting business by 31 December 2023.

If the ministries of the central government, state/UT governments, and entities related to them are already broadcasting their content, it must be done through Prasar Bharati, through appropriate agreements between Prasar Bharati and the concerned central, state, and union governments. The advisory will affect the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh state governments, which operate in the content distribution space.

The advisory will mean the withdrawal of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh state governments from the content distribution space. The Tamil Nadu government owns and operates a cable distribution company called Arasu Cable TV  while the Andhra Pradesh government runs the AP Fibernet service, which has a triple-play offering of IPTV, internet, and telephony. The Tamil Nadu government also operates an educational channel 'Kalvi Tholaikkatchi'.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had made recommendations on "issues relating to the entry of certain entities into broadcasting and distribution activities" dated 12 November 2008, 28 December 2012, and 22 January 2015. Its recommendations dated 28 December 2012 have been accepted by the MIB and the ministry of law and justice.