Broadcast sector loses dominance in MIB budget as AVGC push gains ground

India’s broadcast sector has lost its dominant position within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (I&B) scheme spending for the first time in recent years, signalling a major policy pivot by the government towards films, digital content creation and the emerging AVGC economy.

According to scheme-wise budget annexures, broadcasting’s share in the ministry’s Central Sector Scheme spending has fallen from 47.6% in FY26 to 38% in FY27, even as the ministry’s overall scheme outlay expanded during the same period.

The shift comes amid a broader government push for the Orange Economy — encompassing animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) — which has emerged as one of the biggest gainers in the Union Budget for FY27.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been allocated ₹4,551.94 crore for FY27. However, a closer examination of scheme-level allocations reveals a significant redistribution of spending priorities within the ministry.

In FY26, the ministry’s three key Central Sector Schemes — Development Communication and Dissemination of Information (DCID), Development, Communication and Dissemination of Filmic Content (DCDFC), and Broadcasting schemes including BIND and Community Radio — together accounted for ₹1,169.72 crore in gross budgetary support.

Broadcasting emerged as the single largest component then, receiving ₹556.63 crore, or 47.6% of the total scheme spending. Films accounted for ₹416.98 crore, representing 35.6%, while Information received ₹196.11 crore, or 16.8%.

That balance has changed materially in FY27.

The total scheme outlay has increased to ₹1,361.79 crore, but broadcasting’s allocation has declined in absolute terms to ₹517.24 crore. Its share has consequently compressed to 38% of the ministry’s scheme spending.

In contrast, the Films sector has surged to ₹594.55 crore, accounting for 43.7% of the total scheme allocation, overtaking Broadcasting for the first time. The Information sector’s allocation has also risen to ₹250 crore, taking its share to 18.4%.

The numbers indicate that Broadcasting has moved from being the ministry’s largest spending segment to the smallest within a single budget cycle.

At the centre of the decline is the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme, which funds key public broadcasting infrastructure projects including digitalisation and FM expansion of All India Radio (AIR), upgradation of Doordarshan’s DTH platform, and strengthening of transmission infrastructure across the country.

The BIND allocation has been reduced from ₹548.34 crore in FY26 to ₹509.24 crore in FY27, marking a decline of ₹39.10 crore, or 7.1%. The Supporting Community Radio Movement scheme has also been marginally reduced from ₹8.29 crore to ₹8 crore.

Together, the Broadcasting segment has seen a year-on-year reduction of ₹39.39 crore.

The reduction comes even as several public broadcasting infrastructure projects remain under implementation, particularly in rural, border and tribal regions where Doordarshan and AIR continue to serve as critical information platforms.

Industry observers said the reduced allocation raises questions around the pace of expansion and modernisation of public broadcasting infrastructure.

The increase in Films sector spending, meanwhile, has been driven largely by a fresh ₹250 crore allocation for talent development in the AVGC sector under the government’s Orange Economy initiative.

The new allocation aims to support skill development and ecosystem creation in animation, gaming, visual effects and comics, sectors that the government increasingly views as high-growth creative industries capable of generating employment and intellectual property-led exports.

Even excluding the AVGC allocation, the underlying Films outlay remains stable at ₹344.55 crore, indicating sustained support for film-related initiatives.

The Information sector has also received a higher allocation, with the DCID scheme increasing from ₹196.11 crore in FY26 to ₹250 crore in FY27.

The simultaneous expansion of Films and Information spending, alongside a decline in Broadcasting allocations, has effectively compressed the broadcast sector’s share from both sides.

The budgetary redistribution reflects a broader structural shift in the ministry’s policy orientation.

Historically, broadcasting infrastructure spending has represented one of the I&B ministry’s most visible public service expenditures, particularly through Doordarshan and AIR’s role in delivering information to remote geographies.

The latest budget trends suggest the ministry is increasingly prioritising content creation, digital media ecosystems and creative economy initiatives over legacy transmission infrastructure.

The shift also aligns with the Finance Minister’s broader emphasis on the creative economy as part of India’s future growth strategy, with sectors such as gaming, animation and visual effects positioned as employment-intensive and export-oriented industries.

However, concerns remain over whether the reallocation may come before core broadcasting infrastructure projects are fully completed.

Large parts of AIR’s FM expansion and Doordarshan’s transmission upgrades are still underway, particularly in underserved areas where terrestrial and public broadcasting remain the primary sources of news and information.

Analysts tracking the sector said the key issue may ultimately be one of sequencing — whether the government is moving resources towards emerging creative industries before fully completing its long-standing public broadcasting infrastructure agenda.

The newly announced AVGC labs planned across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges are expected to take years to scale up, while broadcasting infrastructure in rural and border regions requires continued operational support in the near term.

While headline budget discussions largely focused on the ministry’s overall ₹4,551.94 crore allocation and the ₹250 crore AVGC announcement, the scheme-wise allocations reveal a deeper transformation underway within the I&B ministry.

The numbers suggest that the ministry is gradually repositioning itself from being primarily a broadcasting infrastructure ministry towards becoming a facilitator of India’s digital content and creative economy ecosystem. Whether that transition proves sustainable may depend on how effectively ongoing broadcasting infrastructure projects are completed despite lower allocations.