The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is an institution and a ministry of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations, and laws concerning information, broadcasting, the press, and cinema. It was formed on August 15, 1947, shortly after India's independence, with its roots tracing back to the Department of Information and Broadcasting established in 1941 under the British Raj. The ministry was created to shape India's media landscape and disseminate information about government policies to the public, with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel serving as its first Minister.
The MIB's mechanism involves administering several key statutes and overseeing autonomous bodies. Its Broadcasting Wing administers the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, which governs the public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati (comprising All India Radio and Doordarshan). The ministry also connects to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which operates under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the nodal agency for government communication. The Information Wing administers the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, which replaced the older Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.
A significant recent change is the proposed overhaul of the broadcasting sector's regulatory framework. This change, detailed in the draft Telecommunications (Television, Radio and Associated Services) Rules, 2026, seeks to consolidate multiple legacy licensing regimes under a single framework linked to the Telecommunications Act, 2023. This new framework introduces a new schedule for classifying civil penalties and amends requirements, such as replacing the one-hour thematic programming mandate for private radio with a requirement to carry public-interest announcements for a maximum of one hour daily.