The government of India has issued an order bringing digital or online Media, films and audio-visual programmes, news and current affairs content under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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The notification, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, was issued on Monday.
At present, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content.
Last month, the Supreme Court sought the centre's response on a petition for regulating OTT platforms by an autonomous body. The top court issued notices to the centre, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Internet and Mobile Association of India.
OTT platforms include news portals and also streaming services such as Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which are accessible over the internet or ride on an operator's network.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry had earlier told the top court in a separate case that there is a need to regulate digital media and that the court may first appoint a committee of persons as amicus before laying down guidelines with respect to the regulation of hate speech in the media.
Last year, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that the government will not take any step that may curb media freedom, adding there should be some kind of regulation on over-the-top platforms (OTT), as there is for the print and electronic media as well as films.