According to The Economic Times, India’s Information and Broadcasting ministry has issued a notification about which cable operators must show the 24 channels to all their subscribers, in cities where digitisation has been implemented.

This follows the increased channel-carrying capacity of cable networks after digitisation, adds the report. The government has already implemented digitisation in four metros and 38 other major cities, and the I&B ministry intends to make the entire country’s cable sector digital by end-2014, according to the report.

In addition, the mandatory 24 channels will have to be placed alongside other private channels of the same genre, and cable operators have been directed to show each channel in full screen, said the report (as opposed to the split-screen practice that broadcasts ads alongside TV content).