New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- The Centre said on Friday that it is abolishing the 12-minute-per-hour cap on television advertisements. In a press release, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) said broadcasters can now show as many ads as they want.

The restriction, originally introduced in 2006 under the Cable Television Networks Rules (1994), was designed to protect viewers from endless commercial breaks.

"Since then, the TV broadcasting sector has undergone significant changes," the ministry said, noting that there were only 62 TV channels at the time, compared to more than 900 channels at present.

For viewers, this policy change has immediate real-world implications:

The I&B Ministry argued that the television landscape has evo...