The government introduced three new initiatives aimed at enhancing digital content, AI skilling, and public broadcasting. These initiatives include a national AI skilling program, the ‘MyWAVES’ citizen creator platform, and television sets with in-built satellite tuners. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched these initiatives to bolster India’s media, broadcasting, and digital sector.
The national AI Skilling Initiative, in collaboration with Google and YouTube through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), targets training 15,000 individuals from the creative and media sectors. It focuses on enhancing AI capabilities in areas like animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC), and media technology. ‘MyWAVES’ is described as a robust platform for content creators, empowering them to develop, upload, and share content, thereby strengthening India’s digital ecosystem.
The third initiative involves the introduction of television sets with built-in satellite tuners and a user-friendly program guide (EPG). This innovation allows viewers to access DD Free Dish channels directly on their TV sets without the need for a separate set-top box, reducing additional costs and simplifying the viewing experience. The advanced program guide enables users to conveniently browse channels and program schedules in one place, enhancing the overall viewing experience for households nationwide.
The minister highlighted the growing popularity of the ‘Creators’ Corner initiative, with some content already garnering over 3 million views. He encouraged creators to utilize platforms like Doordarshan and MyWAVES to showcase India’s diverse culture, traditions, and regional richness. ‘MyWAVES’ within the WAVES OTT platform enables citizens to create, upload, and share content, serving as a structured platform for user-generated content (UGC) supporting national initiatives like the Create in India Challenge.
