India’s new minister of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Arun Jaitley, might not have much time in the day to think about TV. A linchpin of prime minister Narendra Modi’s new government, Jaitley already oversees two major portfolios, finance and corporate affairs, adding responsibility for the MIB in November.

Jaitley’s first budget, presented in July, offered a few crumbs of comfort to an industry grappling with the formidable demands of a national switchover to digital TV. Nonetheless, his appointment has kindled optimism that India’s digitalization timetable – recently pushed back a year and stoking fears that valuable momentum will be lost – can get back on track.

An Old Hand

True, Jaitley will be kept busy with broader economic and fiscal challenges, but a prior knowledge of the broadcast business (he also served a short stint in the MIB 15 years ago), combined with pro-business leanings, has garnered some industry support.

He publicly championed TV digitalization within days of taking the MIB brief, articulating its economic benefits as well as its potential to drive change, across TV as well as the broader online landscape by delivering broadband to millions of cable homes.

At the same time, Jaitley has pledged more dialog between industry and government. Nonetheless, he will likely keep a light hand on the tiller as far as regulation is concerned, preferring a more free-market approach. His closer involvement in broadcast media is encouraging for a TV industry beset by stakeholder spats and rising costs, but the road ahead remains far from smooth.