I&B Ministry
160 MSOs get 10-year licences under DAS for specified areas; 27 denied permission
NEW DELHI: With addition of two more multi-system operators (MSO) from Sikkim and Bihar, the total number, who have been granted permanent registration for 10 years to operate the digital addressable system during the last two months has gone up to 158 as compared to 142 by December-end.
Most of these MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier. Thus five more MSOs have been granted permission after 5 March till 25 March.
The MSOs, who have received permission after 5 March are Siti Maurya Cable Network Pvt. Ltd for areas in all districts in the state of Bihar except Madhepura and Arawal; Sikkim Digital Network for Gangtok city and Kabi, Phodong, Mangan, Chunthang, Lachen, Lachung, Ranka, Ranipool, 32 Mile, Singtam, Central Pandam, Namthang, Majitar, Rangpo, Duku, Pakyong, Rorathang, Rhenock, Rongli Aritar, Dalapchand, Legship, Geyzing, Pelling, Tasiding, Yuksom, Soreng, Dentak, Reshi, Sombaria, Daramdin, Melli, Bermoik, Temi, Tarku, Namchi, Jorethang and Romang; International Cable Network for Bhojpur, Buxar and Rohtash; SaiStar Digital Media Private Limited for Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara under Phase II, all other areas under Phase III and Phase IV; and Maharaja Entertainment for pan India in all Phases of DAS.
The list of MSOs, who have been refused permission as on 28 February has gone up to 27 from 26 with one more MSO being denied permission. Some of those in the cancelled list applied as early as March 2013.
MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.
The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.
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.
