Broadcasting Regulation in India: A Critical Analysis of the Bill and Its Implications for Press Freedom and Digital Media

India's Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, introduced in 2023 and revised in 2024, represents the most ambitious legislative overhaul of broadcast regulation since the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995. Ostensibly designed to consolidate a fragmented regulatory architecture and adapt the law to the realities of digital media, the Bill has provoked significant controversy among legal scholars, civil society organizations, and media practitioners. This article undertakes a comprehensive critical analysis of the Bill's principal provisions, its three-tier regulatory structure, its expanded definitions of "broadcasting" and "news and current affairs programmes," the proposed Content Evaluation Committees, and the powers vested in…