In a significant move towards democratizing access to public information, India’s leading government broadcasters and media agencies—Doordarshan, All India Radio (Akashvani), and the Press Information Bureau (PIB)—have opened their vast content libraries to digital creators, offering free or low-cost usage rights. The announcement comes in the wake of a growing copyright dispute involving private news agency Asian News International (ANI) and several independent YouTubers.
The initiative is being seen as a pro-creator step, particularly after ANI faced criticism for issuing copyright strikes on creators for using brief snippets of its news footage. Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, which oversees Doordarshan and Akashvani, confirmed that it has made rare archival visuals, news clips, explainers, and documentaries freely available across platforms such as YouTube and social media, and that this content is fully cleared for public use.
Prasar Bharati’s digital portal, PBShabd, was promoted as a key resource in this effort, offering round-the-clock access to verified news clips, articles, audio content, and video footage in multiple Indian languages and categories. The PIB also amplified this message, underscoring that the move ensures reliable and copyright-safe material for creators across the board.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Akashvani announced that its content, including documentaries, shorts, and explainers across 50 categories and 15 languages, is now freely accessible and can be used without any copyright restrictions.
This development comes amid heightened tensions between ANI and YouTubers. Prominent content creator Mohak Mangal recently revealed that ANI issued copyright strikes against his videos for using short clips—just 9 and 11 seconds long—from ANI’s footage in his pieces on the Kolkata rape case and ‘Operation Sindoor’. According to Mangal, ANI then demanded a licensing fee or penalty to lift the strikes.
Several other creators, including Rajat Pawar, have come forward with similar allegations. Pawar claimed that ANI offered to withdraw copyright strikes only after he agreed to a licensing deal costing ₹18 lakh per year or payment of a penalty—failing which, his YouTube channel would be taken down.
The controversy has since escalated to the Delhi High Court. ANI has filed a defamation suit against Mangal, alleging that he spread misinformation to damage its reputation. On Thursday, the court directed Mangal to remove specific segments from his videos which ANI said were defamatory.
In contrast, the government’s latest move is being welcomed by creators and digital journalists as a transparent and supportive alternative. With this step, public broadcasters have positioned themselves as open and accessible sources of news and archival footage, easing the burden on independent content producers who face copyright challenges from private entities.
