Jammu and Kashmir’s proposed new media policy is expected to be finalised soon, Director Information Mamta Yadav said on Thursday.
The draft new media policy is currently under review, and provisions are being considered to cover social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Hansi Ke Rang, Sangeet Ke Sang, organised by the department’s Cultural Unit Kashmir, Yadav said the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) was responding to queries raised during the scrutiny of the draft and hoped the policy would be cleared at the earliest.
“If any policy is made, there is a process for it. We have sent a draft and are continuously responding to the queries that are coming in,” she said.
Yadav said the proposed framework would take account of changes in the media landscape, particularly the growing role of social media in communication and public relations campaigns.
“Social media has grown significantly today, with platforms like Instagram and Facebook. We have included these aspects in the new policy,” she said.
The proposed policy is being developed amid concerns over unregulated digital news platforms, online trolling and the spread of misleading information. The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly debated these issues during its recently concluded autumn session.
The existing media policy, introduced in 2020, gave the DIPR a role in scrutinising journalists’ backgrounds and allowed it to withhold advertisements from media outlets over content categorised as anti-national or fake news. Provisions have yet to be confirmed.
On September 30, 2026, Education and Health Minister Sakina Itoo told the Assembly that the government was working on a new media policy and had given the Information Department four months to formulate the guidelines.