Rajya Sabha Q&A: Draft OTT Accessibility Norms Under Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (M&B) addressed a question in the Rajya Sabha on December 12, 2025, on the draft Guidelines for Accessibility of Content on Platforms of Publishers of Online Curated Content (OTT Platforms). The core aim of the draft guidelines is to ensure that all audio-visual content available on these digital OTT platforms is fully accessible to persons with hearing and visual impairment.
The legal foundation for these draft guidelines is robust, drawing from key national and international obligations. This includes adherence to the Constitutional guarantees enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution, India’s commitment under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and compliance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD), 2016.
The guidelines propose a two-phase implementation schedule for the introduction of access services. This structured approach mirrors the phased implementation model established previously for television programmes, which prescribed access services to be first implemented by the public broadcaster (Prasar Bharati) before extending to private and news broadcasters.
What are “Platforms of Publishers of Online Curated Content” (OTT Platforms)? Platforms of Publishers of Online Curated Content (OTT Platforms) are digital services that deliver edited or packaged audio-visual programming, including films, series, and documentaries, directly to viewers over the internet, often falling under the regulatory scope of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021.
Policy Relevance
This regulatory action establishes a new statutory boundary for the digital media sector, mandating social inclusion across the rapidly expanding OTT economy while fulfilling India’s obligations under the RPwD Act, 2016. By adopting a phased implementation schedule, the policy provides a predictable regulatory roadmap that balances the need for rapid compliance with the technical complexities faced by the various service providers.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What regulatory mechanism will the Ministry establish to monitor compliance with the two-phase implementation schedule and ensure consistent quality of accessible content across diverse OTT platforms?
Follow the full news here: Government Releases Draft OTT Accessibility Norms