I&B Ministry
DPIIT issues clarification on 26% FDI in digital media
KOLKATA: While significant growth in media is coming from digital media consumption, the government amended the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy last year. As a part of the reform, it had announced an approval of 26 per cent FDI in digital media. However, there was a lack of clarity about the niggling details.
Mire than a year later, the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has thrown some further light on it:
The rule would apply to :
· Entities uploading/ streaming news and current affairs on websites, apps, other platforms;
· News agencies which supply news to digital media entities and/or news aggregators;
· News aggregators which, using software / web applications, aggregate content from various sources in one location.
These news organisations would be required to align their FDI to 26 per cent level with governmental the approval, within a year from today. To comply with the FDI policy, the majority of directors on the board of the company and CEO should be Indian citizens.
"Security nod must for foreign personnel deployed for more than 60 days in India if security nod for any foreign personnel gets denied, the employee has to resign/employment terminated," DPIIT said.
In this context, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has announced that it will consider in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to such entities also:
· PIB accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conference and such other interactions.
· Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail CGHS benefits and concessional rail fare as per the extant procedure.
· Eligibility for digital advertisements through Bureau of Outreach and Communication.
Moreover, MIB has suggested forming a similar self-regulating body in digital media like print and electronic media.
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.
