The Indian Broadcasting Foundation appoints Former Justice Vikramjit Sen as the Chairman

• IBF is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof.
• The Council includes national award-winning filmmaker Nikkhil Advani; Deepak Dhar, CEO and founder, Banijay Group; prominent artist, filmmaker and writer Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari; and creative writer and innovative director, Tigmanshu Dhulia.

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which is soon going to be renamed as Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), the apex body of broadcasters and OTT operators, has today announced the appointment of Justice (Retd.) Vikramjit Sen as the Chairman, along with six other eminent industry members for the newly formed Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC). The Council constitutes prominent personalities from the Media & Entertainment industry and Online Curated Content Providers (OCCPs), with experience in IPR, programming and content creation.

The Council includes national award-winning filmmaker Nikkhil Advani; Deepak Dhar, CEO and founder, Banijay Group; prominent artist, filmmaker and writer Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari; and creative writer and innovative director, Tigmanshu Dhulia. The other two members from the OCCPs include Ashok Nambisan, General Counsel, Sony Pictures Pvt. Ltd, and Mihir Rale, Chief Regional Counsel, Star and Disney India.

The self-regulatory body which is formed as per the mandate of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 with active consultation amongst the creative industry fraternity is expected to create a credible, robust and practical code for content, with an inclusive and fair governance structure under the experienced chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Vikramjit Sen.

Speaking on the appointment of the committee, K. Madhavan, President, IBF said, “I am delighted that so many experts from the media and entertainment industry have come forward and accepted the invitation of IBDF to be part of the proposed self-regulatory body. I look forward to working with the Council whose mandate is to ensure freedom of expression of the Indian creative industry as well as help the discerning audience of the OTT platforms to have unhindered access to world-class and differentiated content. This is a historical and win-win moment for all the stakeholders i.e. the M&E industry, the policymakers and the subscribers of the OTT platforms.”

IBF is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof. This industry-led Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) called Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for digital OTT platforms is a second-tier mechanism at the appellate level, similar to Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC).

About the Council members:

Justice Vikramajit Sen: A Graduate from St. Stephen’s College with Honours in History. He has practiced in all the Courts in Delhi, although primarily in the High Court of Delhi. He handled civil, arbitration and commercial disputes. He had a special interest and consultancy on minority rights. He was a core member of the Inter Denomination Committee for recommendations for Amendments to the Personal Laws relating to Christians in India. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court on 7th July 1999 and a permanent Judge on 30th October 2000. He was also a member of the Malta Judicial Conference under the auspices of the Hague Convention. As a Member of the Planning Committee of the Common Law – Commonwealth Conference, 2009 he attended the Conference in Hyderabad in February 2011. He is the first and continuing Chairperson of Delhi High Court Arbitration Centre. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on 24 December 2012. Retired on 30 December 2015. In 2017, Justice Sen was appointed as the Chairman of the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC), which is a self-regulatory body for the non-news and current affairs television channels in India.

Nikkhil Advani: A National Award-winning filmmaker with a film career spanning 20 years. Nikkhil’s film “Delhi Safari” was India’s first stereoscopic 3-D Animation Feature. It advocated for wildlife conservation and is currently being developed into a full-fledged franchise in Hollywood. He began assisting art-house film directors, Saeed Mirza, Kundan Shah, and Sudhir Mishra and his very first outing as a co-screenplay writer for ‘Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ was critically appreciated.

Deepak Dhar: He is credited with being the key driving force behind content production in India. Paris-headquartered content powerhouse Banijay Group has set up its office for India and Southeast Asia in partnership with Deepak Dhar, former Endemol India managing director. Deepak started his journey in the broadcasting industry in 1996. He was listed in the Economic Times Spencer Stuart ‘India’s Hottest 40 under 40 Business Leaders’ in 2015 and recognized as one of the ‘Most Promising Leaders of Asia in 2016’ at The Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave for Demonstrating Exemplary Leadership Qualities, throughout his career.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari: She is an Artist, Filmmaker and Writer. A gold medallist in Commercial Arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, she spent over a decade in the advertising world telling stories for the biggest brands in India and Southeast Asia. She has won several advertising ‘craft’ awards across the world for her layered ideas and in-depth understanding of human psychology at the grassroots level. She has directed the critically acclaimed, award-winning short film ‘What’s for Breakfast?’ ‘Brothers’ and ‘Ghar ki Murgi’ (Taken for Granted). In 2020, Ashwiny was selected by Forbes as “A self-made woman of India”.

Tigmanshu Dhulia: He is a creative writer and innovative director, who is known for his meaningful, award-winning and heart-winning movies. He is the creator of timeless movies/TV shows like Bandit Queen, Bombay Blues, Paan Singh Tomar, Hasil, Charas, Just Mohabbat, etc. He has countless top-grossing, critically acclaimed, and brilliantly directed movies to his credit, as a writer and producer. Post graduated in acting, he completed his Master's Degree in Theatre in 1989.

Ashok Nambissan: Ashok is responsible for overseeing the Corporate Relations, Legal & Regulatory Affairs and the Standards & Practices functions supporting SPN’s businesses in India and abroad. He also serves as the Company’s Ombudsperson. Ashok is a member of the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF)’s Legal Affairs Sub-Committee and the Broadcast Content Complaints Council. He also serves on the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Disciplinary Committee. His areas of expertise include corporate restructuring, Board & investor matters, copyright, property, labour, civil and criminal litigation, regulatory affairs as well as mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining SPN in 2007, he was Senior Director - Legal & Regional General Counsel with Philips Electronics India Limited in Mumbai, where he held multiple positions, including Head of Legal Affairs for Philips in India and South Asia; Compliance Officer under Philips’ General Business Principles; and member of the India management team from 2003 onwards.

Mihir Rale, Chief Regional Counsel, Star and Disney India: He oversees legal and regulatory affairs for Star & Disney India. Mihir has been practicing law for nearly two decades across both contentious and non-contentious issues. Since joining Star India as a Manager in 2009, Mihir has played an instrumental role in the growth of the company. He is now the Chief Regional Counsel for Star and Disney India. Mihir has played a pivotal role in guiding the company and the industry through challenging regulations under an ever-evolving regulatory landscape in India. He began his career with Haresh Jagtiani & Associates as a litigation counsel practicing before the Bombay High Court. Prior to joining Star India, Mihir worked at AZB & Partners, where he practiced both contentious and non-contentious assignments. He holds an LLB and is a Bachelor of Socio-legal Sciences, both from the Indian Law Societies, Law College, and the University of Pune.