Government Proposes Guidelines to Make OTT Content Accessible for Persons with Disabilities

New Delhi, Dec 12: The government has released draft guidelines to ensure that audio-visual content on online curated content platforms (OTT platforms) is accessible to persons with hearing and visual impairments. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Dr L Murugan, informed the Rajya Sabha about the initiative on Friday.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had published the draft guidelines for public consultation on October 7, 2025, titled ‘Accessibility of Content on Platforms of Publishers of Online Curated Content (OTT Platforms)’. According to the ministry, the guidelines propose a two-phase implementation schedule to gradually make OTT content more accessible.

Dr Murugan highlighted that the guidelines were drafted in line with constitutional guarantees under Article 14, India’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Code of Ethics under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media, Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The ministry noted that it had previously issued Accessibility Standards for Persons with Disabilities in Television Programmes for the hearing impaired on September 11, 2019. These standards, particularly Part 12, outlined a phased rollout of access services, starting with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and subsequently extending to private broadcasters and private news channels.

The move to make OTT content accessible comes at a time of rapid growth in India’s entertainment and media industry. According to a PwC India report, the sector is projected to grow from $32.2 billion in 2024 to $47.2 billion by 2029 at a 7.8% compound annual growth rate, nearly double the global average of 4.2%.

The report attributes this growth to rising digital participation, a large youth population, expanding broadband access, and increasing online content consumption, which are reshaping audience behaviour across various formats and creating new opportunities for platforms, advertisers, and content creators.

PwC India forecasts that OTT streaming revenues will grow from $2.27 billion in 2024 to $3.47 billion by 2029, driven by regional content, direct-to-consumer models, and an expanding subscriber base.

The proposed accessibility guidelines are expected to ensure that all citizens, including persons with hearing and visual impairments, can benefit from India’s growing digital entertainment ecosystem, making content consumption more inclusive while supporting the industry’s continued expansion.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)