The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India is initiating a program to enhance television accessibility for the aurally challenged. The initiative mandates captions on all TV programs, enabling people with hearing difficulties to enjoy and understand televised content.
By August 15, 2019, all Indian television channels were required to start captioning at least one program per week, aiming to reach an overall target of 10% captioned programming by the end of 2020. This annual increment will grow steadily, with an ultimate goal to caption 50% of all TV programs by the year 2025.
Underlying Motive
India’s large television audience approximates one billion viewers. A 2019 report from FICCI–EY Media & Entertainment estimates that, on average, an Indian viewer spends about 3 hours 46 minutes watching television every day. Dominant genres consumed include films (24%) and general entertainment (53%).
In order to improve quality education levels, the ministry has introduced the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) requirement on all broadcasted content, across all language spectrums.
Significance of Captioning
The Indian push towards extensive TV captioning is significant for two reasons. Firstly, India becomes one of the first major nations in the Global South, apart from Brazil, to introduce this level of media accessibility through captioning. Secondly, it’s the first country where captioning or Same Language Subtitling is being recognized for its importance in mass reading literacy.
According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, subtitles become a legitimate right of an individual. SLS, when effectively implemented, could contribute massively to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-4) on quality education, as foundational reading skills depend heavily on good quality education.
Expected Outcomes
Table 1: Expected outcomes from SLS implementation
| Outcome | Beneficiary |
|---|---|
| Daily literacy reading practice | One billion viewers, including 500 million weak-readers |
| Language improvement | All viewers |
| Media accessibility | 65 million aurally challenged people |
Previous Initiatives
The United States initiated some of the earliest efforts on captioning for the aurally challenged. In India, all English channels have been incorporating SLS for film and general entertainment content for over a decade.
Inspired by the Indian experience, advocates in the United Kingdom are actively campaigning to “Turn-On-The-Subtitles” (TOTS) in children’s programming as a default feature.
Challenges and Opportunities
India’s primary obstacle is ensuring compliance with these new guidelines across private and state-owned channels. However, consistent exposure to SLS can lead to significant improvement in reading skills and could potentially transform most weak readers into functional ones within three to five years.
With the cost of SLS being negligible when incorporated into production, policymakers should make it mandatory across all broadcasts and digital Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms moving forward. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should collaborate with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to enforce SLS in Indian languages across all digital OTT platforms.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
This act stipulates that the state must provide effective assistance in terms of employment, education and public assistance to individuals with disabilities. The act expands the definition of disability from seven to twenty-one types, allowing the government the flexibility to specify additional categories of disability as needed. This evolving and dynamic law is implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Over-The-Top (OTT) Platforms
OTT services provide film and TV content via high-speed internet connections rather than traditional cable or satellite providers. These platforms, which include services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, offer an excellent opportunity for the implementation of the SLS policy, enhancing media accessibility for all viewers.