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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 14 August 2026 removed the cap limiting television channels to 12 minutes of advertising per hour.
The ceiling sat in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, and had been enforced since 2006; it allowed 10 minutes of commercial advertising and 2 minutes of self-promotion.
The government cited the growth of television from 62 channels in 2006 to more than 900 in 2026, and the absence of any equivalent limit on digital platforms.
The change takes legal effect only once the amendment to the 1994 Rules is notified in the Gazette of India.
Stated objectives are a level playing field with digital media, fair competition and ease of doing business.
The parent statute governing the operation of cable television networks in India, administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The subordinate rules that carry the Programme Code and the Advertisement Code for television; the 12-minute advertising ceiling was one of their provisions.
Regulates the content and duration of advertising carried on television, including the hourly ceiling now being removed.
The formal legal step by which a rule amendment comes into force. Until the amendment is gazetted, the existing cap technically remains on the statute book.
The central justification: identical commercial activity governed by different rule-books depending on the delivery technology.
The decision was framed in the language of reducing compliance burdens on a licensed industry.
The counter-consideration — duration caps exist to shield viewers, and their removal shifts that protection from regulation to market competition.
A textbook illustration of the executive amending subordinate rules under a parent Act, effective only on Gazette notification.
GS Paper II > Governance > Regulatory Bodies and Government Policies
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Government Decisions
General Awareness > Policy and Industry Developments
General Awareness > Current Affairs
The set of provisions under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 that regulate the content and duration of advertising on television.
Scheduled broadcasting in which programmes are transmitted at fixed times, as distinct from on-demand streaming.
A television distribution model in which a central headend uplinks channels to a satellite for redistribution by local cable operators.
Publication in the Gazette of India, the step that gives legal force to rules, amendments and many executive orders.