I&B Ministry
Indo-Bangladesh radio channel Akashvani Maitree launched by President Mukherjee
NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee today said blending of software content from both India and Bangladesh in the fields of art, culture, literature, music, and sports will help promote and preserve the composite Bengali cultural heritage which is the proud inheritance of all Bengali speaking people.
Launching Akashvani Maitree channel in Kolkata, he said this will make the channel a unique one and establish it in the hearts of millions of radio loving people both in India and Bangladesh as well as outside.
Test trials had begun several months earlier and it was to have been launched in June but waited till the President could go.
The President said India and Bangladesh are not just neighbours but are bound by an umbilical connection of ethnicity and kinship. India always attaches highest importance to bilateral relations with Bangladesh because of our shared history, heritage, culture, language, physical proximity and also the role which the two nations can play together for the development and prosperity of the entire subcontinent and beyond.
The bedrock on which the edifice of this unique relationship stands is the unwavering faith of both the countries in democratic values, principles of liberalism, egalitarianism, secularism and respect for each other’s sovereignty and integrity.
With the launch of Akashvani Maitree, he said a new chapter is being added in the annals of India-Bangladesh relations. He said that Akashvani Maitree and its multimedia website is a unique venture and initiative of All India Radio not only for the Bengali listeners in West Bengal, Bangladesh and the adjoining areas but the entire Bengali speaking Diaspora living in different parts of the globe.
The station is a terrestrial channel beamed from Chinsurah from a state-of-the-art DRM high power transmitter which is capable of reaching out to listeners in both West Bengal and the whole of Bangladesh.
AIR External Services Director Amlan Jyoti Mazumdar had earlier told Indiantelevision.com that the most unique aspect was that the new channel would also beam programmes that are either co-proiductions or produced by producers from Bangladesh. It could also be streamed online on airworldservice.org.
I&B Ministry
Press Sewa Portal digitises 1.5 lakh records, streamlines periodical registrations: MIB
Online system spans 780 districts; Rs 5.6 crore penalties, 88,315 titles cancelled
NEW DELHI: India’s print media registry has quietly moved from dusty files to digital dashboards. The government has digitised more than 1.5 lakh historical records of newspapers and periodicals and shifted registrations fully online through the Press Sewa Portal.
Introduced under the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act, 2023, the portal now handles all applications for registering periodicals, replacing the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.
The digital shift brings a wide range of services onto a single platform. Publishers can now register new periodicals, revise registrations, transfer ownership, file annual statements, pay penalties online and apply for circulation verification without navigating government offices.
As part of the rollout, specified authorities in 780 districts across India have been onboarded onto the platform. Since 1 March 2024, the portal has processed 11,081 applications and issued certificates across different categories.
The transition has also brought stronger compliance. According to government data, Rs 5.63 crore in penalties has been collected through the portal so far. States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh account for some of the largest penalty collections.
At the same time, the authorities have carried out a major clean-up of inactive or non-compliant publications. A total of 88,315 periodicals have been cancelled nationwide, with Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi among the states reporting the highest number of cancellations.
The government says the system will continue to evolve based on feedback from users. The Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) regularly reviews suggestions to improve services and make compliance easier for publishers.
The full list of registered newspapers and periodicals is available on the PRGI website under the Registered Titles section.
The information was shared in a written reply in the Lok Sabha by minister of state for information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs L Murugan, responding to a question from Damodar Agrawal.
