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OTT players welcome Ministry of I&B’s accessibility draft; flag rollout hurdles for smaller platforms
India’s proposed accessibility guidelines for OTT platform-mandating captions, audio descriptions, and sign language within strict deadlines- are being hailed as progressive and necessary, though stakeholders warn that cost, capacity, and compliance timelines could pose major challenges.
Experts warn that excluding live and short-form content could create accessibility blind spots in widely viewed formats.
When the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) released its draft Guidelines for Accessibility of Content on OTT Platforms for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment earlier this week, it marked a historic moment for India’s digital entertainment ecosystem. The draft, open for public comments until October 22, 2025, proposes a phased plan to make online curated content inclusive through features like closed captions, audio descriptions, and Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation - a move that brings OTT regulation closer to the principles of equality and accessibility enshrined in the Indian Constitution and international human rights conventions.
The guidelines mandate that all new content uploaded on OTT platforms must include at least one accessibility feature within six months of the final notification, and that entire content libraries achieve full accessibility within 24 months.
Read more: I&B Ministry issues draft accessibility guidelines for OTT platforms for persons with disabilities
A monitoring committee chaired by a Joint Secretary-level officer will oversee compliance, supported by quarterly reviews and stakeholder engagement.
It’s a significant leap toward inclusion - but one that, according to industry voices, requires both ambition and realism.
For Dhruvin Shah, Founder and CEO of JOJO App, the draft is “ambitious yet futuristic,” reflecting a long-overdue acknowledgment of accessibility gaps in India’s booming OTT landscape.
“The phased rollout acknowledges the technical, financial, and content management complexities involved in retrofitting older content,” says Shah. “This could require significant investment in content tagging, audio description production, and seamless integration across different user interfaces.”
While global streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon already have accessibility infrastructure in place, India’s fragmented OTT market - with hundreds of regional and independent platforms - faces a steep climb.
Smaller players often lack the technical resources, workflow automation, and trained professionals needed for captioning or sign language interpretation at scale.
Kaushik Das, Founder & CEO of AAO NXT, echoes this challenge, calling the move “a major and long-awaited stride” that balances ambition with pragmatism.
“Captions and basic audio descriptions can be integrated swiftly in digital-first setups,” he notes, “but high-quality AD and Indian Sign Language require dedicated human resources. Financially, retrofitting libraries and building QA and data processes justify the extended timeline and may need government support.”
Das points to one crucial element that strengthens the policy’s intent - accessibility features like Audio Description and Closed Captioning (ADCC) are already mandated during Censor Board certification for films. “This underlines accessibility not as a compliance checkbox but as part of responsible and inclusive storytelling,” he says.
Governance and enforcement: a system taking shape
To ensure compliance, the MIB proposes a monitoring committee with quarterly reviews. The committee will not only evaluate implementation progress but also address grievances and issue directives to maintain consistency across platforms.
This model of governance, says Shah, is “a forward-looking framework that promotes gradual accountability rather than instant policing.” However, he adds that enforcement could be further strengthened with third-party audits and defined consequences for non-compliance.
Das believes that the success of enforcement depends on transparency. “Enforcement must go beyond paperwork,” he stresses. “We need published standards for feature quality, grievance redress mechanisms, and public dashboards that track compliance progress.”
Legal expert Dinesh Jotwani, Co-Managing Partner at Jotwani Associates, sees both promise and pitfalls. While he calls the draft “a progressive and ambitious move,” he warns that the 24-month compliance period might be “tight” for platforms with large, legacy libraries.
“Smaller and regional players will face the brunt of the challenge - from lack of in-house accessibility teams to the cost of hiring external vendors,” Jotwani says.
He also highlights a crucial issue of international standard alignment. “The draft follows an Indianized version of accessibility norms,” he explains. “While this localization is necessary, it may not fully align with global frameworks like the Americans with Disabilities Act or WCAG. For international platforms, this could create compliance overlap or friction.”
Exemptions and grey areas
The draft exempts certain content types - live or deferred live broadcasts, audio-only formats like podcasts and music, and short videos under ten minutes - citing current technical limitations in real-time captioning and description.
Shah agrees that these exclusions are practical “given the real-time complexities,” but also sees them as “a transitional phase that leaves room for future upgrades.”
Das, however, cautions that “blanket exemptions” could leave accessibility blind spots. “Live and short-form content have massive reach,” he says. “Platforms should be encouraged to at least publish accessibility roadmaps for these categories and invest in AI-driven tools for rapid captioning.”
Public policy expert Sourya Banerjee, Associate Director at Jajabor Brand Consultancy, believes the exemptions are “a practical necessity for now,” but stresses that inclusivity must expand to these formats eventually. “Content with greater accessibility will always have greater reach. With the right incentives, the industry can go beyond the letter of the law.”
The inclusion imperative: balancing cost and creativity
For many OTT executives, accessibility is not just about compliance - it’s an opportunity to expand audiences and improve user experience. Platforms like AAO NXT have already embedded accessibility into their workflows, using AI-driven tools for captions and descriptions, coupled with human quality checks and customer feedback loops.
“The key is to view accessibility as a creative and strategic advantage,” says Das. “It’s not about ticking boxes, it’s about widening reach.”
Hoichoi’s Co-founder Vishnu Mohta welcomes the draft and confirms that the Bengali OTT platform is “already in the process of adopting all required measures to be compliant.”
Still, challenges persist. “Cost, upskilling, and the shortage of professionals in regional languages and ISL remain significant hurdles,” Das says. “Collaborative frameworks and government-backed support could make implementation more sustainable.”
Banerjee adds that “the industry is mature enough to respond positively if given the right nudge. Companies will see an organic increase in viewership as they make content more accessible.”
The MIB’s draft guidelines are grounded in legal and moral imperatives - Article 14 of the Constitution, India’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. They also build on initiatives like the Accessible India Campaign and earlier Accessibility Standards for Television Programmes (2019).
Yet, the success of this framework depends on one key shift: treating accessibility not as a compliance burden, but as a creative opportunity and human right.
“The future of Indian OTT is inclusive, but inclusivity cannot be retrofitted - it must be designed,” says Banerjee.
“Accessibility needs to be built into how content is created, not added on as a layer later,” sum up experts.
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