I&B Ministry
All India Radio elected to ABU Administrative Council
MUMBAI: All India Radio has been elected as a Member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, ABU’s Administrative Council. In the election held at the 43rd General Assembly of the ABU in Beijing, China, AIR was elected for a two year term on the 14 Member Administrative Council, which functions as the executive of the premier broadcasting union in the world.
AIR has also been appointed to the Policy & Strategy Group of ABU.
In another event at the on going ABU General Assembly, the Engineer-in-Chief of All India Radio, Mr A S Guin has been honoured with the ABU Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of broadcast engineering in AIR and Doordarshan, the release adds.
Formed in 1964, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations with more than 150 members from 55 countries of the Asia-Pacific region. It provides a platform for co-operation in the field of news and programme exchange, acquisition of broadcast rights, training and technical consultancy. Doordarshan and All India Radio are among the most active members of the ABU.
Brijeshwar Singh, CEO, Prasar Bharati and A S Guin, Engineer-in-Chief, All India Radio are representing AIR and Doordarshan at the Beijing General Assembly.
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the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.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.
