Image of the Day The scheme under the VB-G-Ram G Act, 2025 is yet to be rolled out. Picture by Moorthy G-The Hindu Live-in couples in stable relationships to be classified as married Bharti Jain for The Times of India reported that a live-in couple staying in a household in a “stable union” shall be treated as a married couple in Census 2027. In an FAQ reply listed on the census self-enumeration portal — to whether a couple in a live-in relationship will be considered a married couple during self-enumeration or the enumerator’s visit to the household — the authorities state: “If they (the couple) consider their relationship as a stable union, they should be treated as a married couple”. Though a clarification on the issue has been publicly offered the first time, possibly as respondents will be self-enumerating, an official involved in previous census exercises said unmarried couples living together and declaring themselves as “married” to the enumerator were rec

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   For decades, the television rating system in India has operated like a casino where the house always wins and the house, in this case, was a cosy club of broadcasters, advertisers and a single all-powerful ratings monopoly. The numbers that determined which news channel got the ad money, which prime-time anchor kept their job, which story got told louder -- all of it flowed from a system that was, at best, opaque, and at worst, gameable. Then on March 27, 2026, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting quietly did something rather radical: it rewrote the rules entirely. The TRP Policy 2026 isn't glamorous legislation. There are no ribbon-cutting ceremonies for audience measurement reform. But read between the lines of the MIB's notification, and what emerges is a blueprint that could genuinely shift the power dynamics of Indian news media -- if the industry has the courage to let it. Start with the most overlooked reform: the man

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has issued a notice to Prasar Bharati following a petition by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) over the public broadcaster’s plan to onboard linear television channels onto its OTT platform, WAVES. AIDCF argued that the move violates the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022, particularly Clause 11(3)(f), which allows signal decoders to be provided only to authorised distribution platforms like MSOs, DTH, HITS, and IPTV operators, not OTT services. The federation warned that broadcasters risk regulatory violations and an uneven playing field, as OTT platforms operate under lighter oversight. According to MediaNews4U, Prasar Bharati has positioned WAVES as a step to increase accessibility of TV content digitally. The NIA application deadline was recently extended, showing continued momentum for the rollout. TDSAT has directed Prasar Bharati to file a response ahead of the April 29 hearing. Advoc

Influencing held the 24th Annual Samsung Australian IT Journalism Awards on Friday evening at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf Pyrmont in Sydney. Please see a collection of the photos from the evening.  Influencing would again like to thank our sponsors for the evening, including Samsung Australia, Cisco, MYOB, Meta, Optus, Kinetic IT, PEXA, ACS, ARMHub and Watterson, as well as Award supporters Adobe, Aussie Broadband and Apptio.                 

Front page news for Monday, 30th March, 2026   Fuel crisis war-gamed as prices bite National cabinet is meeting to stress-test “worst-case” fuel-supply scenarios, with options reportedly ranging from keeping service stations operating to demand-reduction measures and even rationing, as Middle East tensions threaten supply. The story has major cost-of-living and political implications, with economists warning against blanket handouts and some states weighing targeted contingencies instead. Covered by: Herald Sun, Australian Financial Review, The Advertiser, Daily Telegraph, Courier Mail, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age. North Korean IT “workers” accused of infiltrating Australian firms Investigations allege North Korean operatives have posed as remote IT contractors to gain access to companies, including in Australia, and funnel earnings back to the regime’s weapons programs. It sharpens the national security focus on corporate cyber vetting, ide

David Swan and The Guardian have taken home the Gold Lizzies for Best Journalist and Best Coverage at the 24th Annual Samsung Australian IT Journalism Awards on Friday evening.   Swan’s Best Journalist win was his second Gold Lizzie in three years. It also capped a successful night for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s Technology Editor, who won Best Security Journalist, Best Telecommunications Journalist and Cass Warneminde Best News Journalist earlier in the evening.  The Guardian’s Best Coverage award was one of two awards won by the masthead on the evening, winning Best Consumer Technology Coverage earlier in the evening. The winning entries featured the work of Technology Reporter Josh Taylor and Senior Correspondent Sarah Martin.  Esteemed Editor and Journalist, Helen Meredith was this year’s deserving recipient of the Pioneer of IT Award, following a remarkable 40-year-plus journalism career. Former AFR Sections Editor Beverley Head

Image edited by Dinesh Raj M   For the longest time, the Indian media industry's relationship with AI has been something like a monsoon romance full of promise, plenty of heat, but ultimately driven by whoever had the budget to experiment. Platforms did it. Agencies did it. Studios dipped their toes in and called it transformation. The rest of the industry watched, took notes and hoped someone would eventually explain what Vertex AI actually meant for their deadlines. That someone, it turns out, is the government. On March 23, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting quietly did something that deserves far more attention than it received: it partnered with Google to launch a structured, two-phase AI skilling programme targeting 15,000 professionals in the creative and media sectors animators, VFX artists, journalists, content creators completely free of charge, routed through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies in New Delhi. "Help creators build cap