Orange Economy in India: AI Skilling, MyWAVES & DD Free Dish Initiatives

The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, has unveiled three new initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s media, broadcasting, and digital sector and promoting the “orange economy”.

• The newly launched three initiatives are:
  • the National AI Skilling Initiative in partnership with Google and YouTube through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT); 
  • MyWAVES, a citizen creator platform on WAVES OTT; 
  • Rollout of advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and in-built satellite tuners in television sets for enhancing access to DD Free Dish services

About National AI Skilling Initiative

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Implementation: It is being implemented by Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), with the support of YouTube.
• Objective: To strengthen AI capabilities in areas such as animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC) and media technology.
• Training: About 15,000 youth to be trained without levying any fee.
• The AI skilling programme will be conducted in two phases:
  • Phase 1: It will focus on foundational AI learning at scale through Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud Generative AI learning paths. 
    • Participants will undergo courses such as AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, Introduction to Generative AI, and Generative AI Leader Path.
  • Phase 2: It will involve advanced, hands-on and project-based specialisation for the creative industry. 
    • The curriculum will include modules on the art of storytelling, YouTube best practices, and advanced training using AI tools such as Gemini 3, Nano Banana, Veo, and Vertex AI.

MyWAVES Platform

• It is a new feature platform within the WAVES OTT platform for content creators, enabling them to create, upload, and share content.
• Structured User-Generated Content Ecosystem: It is designed as a structured platform for user-generated content (UGC) that will also support participation in national initiatives such as the Create in India Challenge.
• Shift from Consumption to Creation:The platform marks a shift from content viewing to active content participation, making WAVES OTT a platform not only for viewing but also for creation.
• Support for Diverse Content Formats: MyWaves will support multiple formats including short videos, vertical videos and episodic content.
• Multilingual Accessibility: It offers a multilingual interface to cater to users across various Indian languages.

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Advanced EPG & In-built Satellite Tuner in Television Sets

• Introduction of Advanced Television Features: In a significant step to simplify television viewing, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has introduced TV sets with in-built satellite tuners and an advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG).
• Elimination of Set-Top Box Dependency: Viewers can now access DD Free Dish channels directly on their television sets without requiring a separate set-top box.
• Cost and Convenience Benefits: This initiative reduces additional costs, minimizes wiring, and eliminates the need for multiple remote controls.
• Enhanced User Experience through Advanced EPG: The new user-friendly programme guide enables easy browsing of channels and schedules in a single interface.
• Improved Accessibility for Households: The initiative enhances convenience and accessibility, making television viewing simpler for households across the country.

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Significance of Initiatives

• The National AI Skilling Initiative will help creators build capabilities and achieve their goals in the evolving digital landscape. 
• MyWAVES will support the creation of a vibrant digital ecosystem, enabling citizens to create, upload, and share content. 
• The third initiative, related to DD Free Dish, adds significant value by allowing citizens to access content without the need for a set-top box, thereby improving reach, especially in remote areas.

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