I&B Ministry
Day 4: FM Phase III provisional winning price crosses Rs 550 crore mark
NEW DELHI: The summation of provisional winning prices at the end of the fourth day of the FM Phase III surpassed Rs 550.18 crore, which is the total reserve price of 135 channels.
The fourth day of the e-auction showed marked enthusiasm but there were still no bids in as many as 14 cities and the provisional winning price was lower than the Clock round Price in some cases.
In all, 16 rounds of e-auction have been completed including four today (30 July) for the 135 FM channels in all the existing 69 cities of the first stage being opened.
At the close of the fourth day of bidding, 80 channels in 55 cities became provisionally winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of around Rs 643 crore against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 391 crore.
The auction began for the fourth day with Auction Activity Requirement set at 80 per cent.
The demand over the price in many cities fell by up to three per cent below the aggregate demand.
The Percentage Price Increment (in INR) applicable for the Next Clock Round was five per cent in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, and in Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Rourkela, Jodhpur, and Pune.
The highest Provisional winning price – the same as the Clock round price at the start of the sixteenth round – was in Delhi – Rs 86.57 crore, followed by Mumbai – Rs 78 crore with both showing sizeable increase compared to the first three days. On the other hand, Hyderabad was at Rs 18 crore, Lucknow at Rs 14 crore, Cochin at Rs 10. 21 crore and Chandigarh at Rs 15.76 crore.
Among cities recording more than Rs 10 crore, it rose sizeably in Bengaluru – Rs 44.90 crore; Pune – Rs 29.11 crore; Chennai – Rs 25.50 crore and Ahmedabad – Rs 24.95 crore.
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.
