I&B Ministry
FM P-III: Second batch e-auctions stopped; no activity for two weeks
NEW DELHI: With little or no movement for more than two weeks except for the Muzaffarpur bids, the e-auction for the second batch of FM Phase has been stopped, even as 44 cities failed to attract bidders, with just M/s South Asia FM Ltd declared as the winning bidder for five Radio FM channels a day after commencement of the process.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources had earlier told radioandmusic.com that the aim was to continue till all the channels slated in the second batch were auctioned, but breaks will have to be taken for weekends and national holidays.
Ministry sources told the website today that a final result for the second will be issued in a day or two.
On the last day of the e-auction on 13 December, the bid for Muzaffarpur had risen to Rs 4,35,31,244.from Rs 4,10,47,850 last week, but for the first time remaining below the clock round price of Rs 4,39,66,556.
Hyderabad and Dehradun remained at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively on the 26th day with the completion of three rounds taking the total to 100.
Fourteen bidding companies had been shortlisted for taking part in the second batch.. M/s South Asia FM Ltd will be allotted FM Channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
Other than Hyderabad and Dehradun, the top sixteen cities remained static with bids of more than Rs 32 million. The bids at Alappuzha (Alleppey), Erode, Hubli-Dharwad, Nellore, Salem, Vellore and Vijaywada remained at just over Rs 70 million while bids for Tiruchy was just above Rs 50 million and Tirupathi, Puducherry and Muzaffarpur to a little over Rs 40 million. Amravati, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Ujjain bid a little over Rs 35 million and Mysuru a little over Rs 32 million.
The first day of auction on 26 October saw a winning price of Rs 1820 milion against the aggregate price of Rs 1792 million, while the second day onwards the bidding has been low.
This data has been compiled on the basis of system generated “Final Round Result Report” and “Frequency Identification Report” accessible through auction administrator role.
Also Read : South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III
FM Phase III: E-auction moving at snail’s pace even as Muzaffarpur shows some rise
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.
