I&B Ministry
Irked with DD, North-East TV producers to submit memo to I&B minister
NEW DELHI: The producers of TV programmes from the Northeast (comprising eight states of the country) have taken up cudgels against alleged malpractices prevailing in India’s pubcaster Doordarshan and its regional centre.
In a memorandum, which is to be submitted to the information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy tomorrow, the NE Producers Association has alleged that sanctioned funds for commissioned and royalty-based programmes have not been released by Prasar Bharati.
Prasar Bharati looks after the functioning of DD and its sibling All India Radio.
As an example, the association has said that for works done under the commissioned category about 50 per cent of the producers of the region are yet to get their payments for completed programmes.
In what could be a damaging allegation, the association has said that the officially allocated money has not been released since financial year 2001-02 by DD’s Guwahati regional centre for programmes. The money was to be allotted under the commissioned and royalty categories for a 24-hour satellite channel, meant for the region.
Pointing out that the withheld accumulated amount- that adds up to Rs 1421 million- the yet-to-be-submitted memo states, “Surprisingly not a single rupee was released against this allocation (and) as a result, the channel has to repeat programmes, and collect old programmes from other kendras (centres) of this region.”
Amongst some other demands, the NE producers Association has said that money allocated for programmes to be outsourced should be released by October. They also insisted that various regional centres of DD of the region should be upgraded and an apathetic attitude of National Film and Development Corporation towards filmmakers from N-E region should be done away with.
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.
