I&B Ministry
Print ads get largest chunk from govt’s ad spends of Rs 842.8 crore till 29 February
New Delhi: A total of Rs 842.8 crore was spent by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity during 2015-16 for release of government advertisements on behalf of various central government ministries/departments, attached and subordinate Offices. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, while informing that these figures were up to 29 February, added that the largest chunk of Rs 402.79 crore went into print media and the lowest chunk of 7.83 crore went into exhibitions.
In a reply in the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said today that a sum of Rs 353.31 crore went into the electronic media which includes private cable and satellite TV channels, FM radio, digital cinema, SMS, and internet. A sum of Rs 66.83 crore went into outdoor publicity, and Rs 12.13 crore was spent on print publicity.
Breaking up spends on the print media further, Jaitley said, Rs 864,622,488 went into finance, Rs 313,042,627 in health and family welfare, Rs 650,186,569 into information and broadcasting, Rs 236,255,392 into social justice and empowerment, Rs 153,758,926 into consumer affairs and food and public distribution, and Rs 109,740,171 into home affairs.
In electronic media, the largest chunk went into publicizing drinking water supply (Rs 888,196,956), followed by Rs 518,201,180 on department of family welfare, tourism (Rs 438,717,736), income tax (Rs 27,504,845) and Rs 238,051,652 on information and broadcasting.
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the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.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.
