I&B Ministry
AIR ad rates to be revised
The private FM players may be getting all the publicity at the moment but good old All India Radio is not going to be left behind.
At today’s meeting of the board of Pubcaster Prasar Bharati, which manages both AIR and national broadcaster Doordarshan, it was decided that AIR’s ad rates were to be revised.
The decision follows a good performance last year by AIR. In a year that has been acknowledged as a bad year for business, AIR raked in revenues of Rs 970 million, the highest in the last 10 years, deputy director general, AIR, MS Rukmini has been quoted as saying.
And Rukmini shows no worries that there will be any drop in revenues what with the plethora new FM channels coming up, because of one fundamental reason. These channels are essentially city-centric, while AIR is still an effective media in the rural sector. Towards this end AIR has been effecting drastic changes in its programmes.
This is certainly an area where private operators are unlikely to take an active interest and so if managed well, there is no reason why AIR shouldn’t continue to do well.
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the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.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.
