In a single event on 23 March 2026, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) reshaped what public broadcasting looks like in India — and quietly handed media professionals, Doordarshan viewers, and content creators a set of tools they didn’t have the day before.
Union Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw launched three interconnected initiatives: MyWAVES, a new citizen creator platform built into the WAVES OTT ecosystem; a National AI Skilling Initiative in partnership with Google and YouTube to train 15,000 media professionals for free; and a new standard for television sets that lets viewers watch DD Free Dish channels without ever buying a set-top box. The launches, held in the presence of YouTube India’s Managing Director Gunjan Soni and senior MIB officials, were framed as India’s push to grow the ‘Orange Economy’ — the government’s term for the creative and cultural content sector.
Track every open notification & never miss a deadline
Secretary Shri Sanjay Jaju, speaking at the event, summed up the intent plainly: the first initiative makes people capable, the second expands opportunity, and the third ensures access. It’s a rare occasion when a single press conference does all three.
MyWAVES – When Prasar Bharati Stops Being Just a Broadcaster
The most consequential shift in the WAVES OTT MyWAVES Prasar Bharati 2026 announcement may be the quietest one. MyWAVES, the new citizen creator feature on WAVES OTT, doesn’t just add content to a platform — it changes the platform’s fundamental identity.
Until now, WAVES OTT worked like most streaming services: you come to watch. MyWAVES turns it into something closer to a public broadcast commons, where any Indian with a story can upload, share, and reach an audience. Short videos, vertical videos, episodic content — the platform supports multiple formats and will run a multilingual interface, so a creator from Assam doesn’t have to produce in Hindi or English to participate.
The connection to the Create in India Challenge is significant for anyone who has been watching the government’s creator economy initiatives. MyWAVES is designed to be the submission and amplification layer for that programme — linking grassroots content creation directly to a nationally visible platform. Some content already uploaded to the related ‘Creators’ Corner’ initiative has crossed 3 million views, which suggests the audience is there, even if the infrastructure was still catching up.
For Prasar Bharati employees, this is a real change in operational context. Doordarshan is no longer just a broadcaster filling air time with commissioned content — it now has a user-generated content pipeline to manage, curate, and support. That means new roles, new editorial responsibilities, and a growing need for the kind of digital production skills that the AI skilling programme is specifically designed to build.
📌 Also Read: WAVES OTT Platform – What It Is and How to Use It
Free AI Training for Media Professionals – What the National Skilling Initiative Actually Offers
The National AI Skilling Initiative is being run through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) with direct support from Google and YouTube. It will train 15,000 participants from the creative and media sectors — and it costs them nothing.
That last point deserves emphasis. AI skilling programmes of this kind, run by Google with globally recognised certification, typically cost thousands of rupees to access privately. The government has arranged full coverage. If you work in animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC), or any area of media technology, this is a programme worth taking seriously.
The training runs in two phases. Phase I runs from 23 March to 30 June 2026, covering foundational AI concepts through Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud’s Generative AI learning paths. The courses — AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, Introduction to Generative AI, and Generative AI Leader Path — are pitched at professionals who want to understand how AI tools work, not just use them blindly. Completing Phase I is mandatory before moving forward.
Phase II, from July to December 2026, is where the programme gets sector-specific. This is project-based, hands-on training designed around the creative industry’s actual workflows. The curriculum includes storytelling in the AI era, YouTube production best practices, and advanced work with tools like Gemini 3, Veo, Vertex AI, and Nano Banana. Training will be conducted in major cities across the country.
YouTube India’s Managing Director Gunjan Soni, speaking at the launch, said the collaboration is aimed at equipping creators and professionals with skills to “leverage AI to tell more compelling stories” and “expand their reach to new audiences.” The framing is notable — this isn’t a basic digital literacy programme. It’s positioned as preparation for the next generation of content production.
DD Free Dish Without a Set-Top Box – A Small Change With a Large Reach
The third initiative doesn’t make as many headlines as AI skilling does, but it may reach the most people.
The MIB has introduced a new standard for television sets: models with in-built satellite tuners and an Advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). On such a set, a viewer can access DD Free Dish channels — Doordarshan’s free-to-air satellite service — directly, without purchasing or connecting a separate set-top box.
For urban households with reliable broadband and a smart TV, this may seem incremental. But for the millions of households — particularly in rural India, remote districts, and areas with poor last-mile internet connectivity — where a set-top box represents a real cost and a real logistical hurdle, this matters. Doordarshan’s reach has always depended on DD Free Dish, which serves areas where no private broadcaster bothers to go. Removing the hardware barrier at the TV end extends that reach further still.
The Advanced EPG layer also improves the day-to-day viewing experience. Instead of scrolling through a basic channel list, viewers get a programme schedule browser — clean, intuitive, and laid out in one place. It’s the kind of quality-of-life improvement that makes the difference between someone actually using a free service and not bothering.
⚠️ Note for viewers: Existing set-top box setups continue to work normally. The in-built tuner option applies to new television sets going forward — you don’t need to change your current arrangement.
The ‘Orange Economy’ Frame – Why These Three Initiatives Belong Together
It would be easy to look at these three announcements as unrelated — a streaming feature, a training programme, and a hardware standard. But the government’s framing is deliberate. All three serve the same underlying goal: expanding India’s creative economy at scale.
MyWAVES gives creators a platform with national reach. The AI skilling programme gives them the technical capabilities to compete in a rapidly changing content landscape. And the DD Free Dish in-built tuner ensures that the audience receiving all this content isn’t limited to urban broadband users.
Minister Vaishnaw, referring to PM Modi’s vision of democratising technology, made the point directly at the launch: accessible technology is the through-line. A creator trained in AI who uploads to MyWAVES needs viewers — and those viewers, including the ones in a village in Chhattisgarh watching on a television with a built-in tuner, are part of the same ecosystem.
For Prasar Bharati as an institution, this is also a moment worth watching. Public broadcasters globally have had a difficult decade competing with private OTT platforms on content quality and distribution. These initiatives position Doordarshan and WAVES OTT not as legacy infrastructure, but as active components of India’s digital content future.
What Comes Next
Enrolment for Phase I of the AI skilling programme is already open — the window runs until 30 June 2026, but seats are capped at 15,000 and interest is expected to be high. Media professionals, Prasar Bharati employees, AVGC sector workers, and students in relevant fields should check iict.org for registration details.
MyWAVES is live within the WAVES OTT platform. Creators can begin uploading content, and participation windows for the Create in India Challenge are expected to be announced separately.
Television manufacturers will roll out in-built satellite tuner models progressively through 2026. If you’re planning to buy a new TV set, it’s worth asking whether the model supports DD Free Dish reception natively.
Important Links
| What | Link |
|---|---|
| PIB Official Press Release | Read Here |
| IICT Official Website (AI Skilling) | Visit Here |
| Prasar Bharati Official Website | Visit Here |
| WAVES OTT Platform | Check official site |
| MyWAVES Creator Portal | Check official site |
📌 Editor’s note: Replace “Check official site” links with live URLs once officially available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is MyWAVES and how is it different from WAVES OTT?
WAVES OTT is the government’s public OTT streaming platform. MyWAVES is a new layer within it that allows ordinary citizens — not just broadcasters — to upload and share content. It supports short videos, vertical videos, and episodic formats, with a multilingual interface. The key shift is from passive viewing to active participation.
Who can register for the National AI Skilling Initiative?
The programme is open to creators, media professionals, students, and developers in the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC), and media technology sectors. There are 15,000 seats and the programme is entirely free. Enrolment is through IICT — visit iict.org for the current registration process.
Is Phase I of the AI training compulsory before Phase II?
Yes. The Ministry has confirmed that completing Phase I (23 March – 30 June 2026) is mandatory before progression to Phase II. Phase I covers foundational AI concepts through Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud learning paths.
Do I need to replace my television to benefit from the DD Free Dish in-built tuner initiative?
No. Your existing set-top box continues to work. The in-built satellite tuner is a feature being introduced in new television sets — it simply means future buyers won’t need to purchase a set-top box separately. There is no obligation to upgrade.
How does this affect employees currently working at Prasar Bharati?
In practical terms, MyWAVES creates a new content stream that Doordarshan’s editorial and technical teams will need to support. The AI skilling programme is directly relevant to staff working in production, broadcasting, and media technology — and it’s free to participate in. The DD Free Dish expansion is also likely to increase Doordarshan’s total viewership, which has downstream implications for content demand and staffing.
What is the Create in India Challenge and how does MyWAVES connect to it?
The Create in India Challenge is a government initiative inviting citizens to create content showcasing India’s culture, traditions, and regional diversity. MyWAVES has been built to serve as the platform layer for this challenge — creators can submit and amplify their work through WAVES OTT.
What does ‘Orange Economy’ mean in this context?
The Orange Economy is the government’s term for India’s creative and cultural economy — encompassing film, music, gaming, animation, digital content creation, and the wider arts sector. It’s modelled on the global ‘creative economy’ concept. The government has committed to supporting it through budget allocations, and these three initiatives are part of that broader push.
Conclusion
The 23 March 2026 MIB launches are one of those announcements that look incremental on the surface but pull together into something more significant when read as a whole. Free AI training at scale, a creator platform on a public broadcaster, and a hardware standard that removes barriers to TV access — none of this is business as usual for Prasar Bharati, and that’s precisely the point.
If you’re a media professional or content creator, the Phase I AI skilling window is open now. If you’re a Prasar Bharati employee, the context in which you work is changing. And if you’re a viewer in a part of India where a set-top box has always felt like one more thing to deal with, that problem is on its way out.
Bookmark Govtserviceinfo.com and join our Telegram channel for instant alerts on Prasar Bharati employee news, MIB policy updates, and WAVES OTT developments.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the official PIB press release dated 23 March 2026 (Release ID: 2243949) issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Platform availability, enrolment processes, and television product roll-outs are subject to official announcements from the respective authorities. Govtserviceinfo.com is not affiliated with MIB, Prasar Bharati, Google, or YouTube. Readers should verify current details directly from official sources before acting on any information.
2 thoughts on “India Launches MyWAVES Creator Platform, Free AI Training, and Set-Top-Box-Free DD Viewing in One Sweeping MIB Move”