I&B Ministry
FM Phase III auction postponed
NEW DELHI: The e-auctions in the second batch of FM Phase III, which completed its 24th day yesterday, will now resume on 9 December 2016.
The auction was not held on Tuesday, owing to the demise of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha as some bidders rushed back to Tamil Nadu.
The bidding has so far been somewhat slow, but Muzaffarpur has been the sole silver lining over the past week rising to more than Rs 33.7 million and thus also overtaking Mysuru which is still at Rs 32.1 million.
Hyderabad and Dehradun are still at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively, and there are still no bids for 44 cities and movement of just one or two cities in the bottom rung.
M/s South Asia FM Ltd has been declared as the winning bidder for five Radio FM channels, just a day after the commencement of the auction for the second batch of Phase III. The company will be allotted FM Channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
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.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com’s sister concern 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.
This data has been compiled on the basis of system generated “Final Round Result Report” and “Frequency Identification Report” accessible through auction administrator role.
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South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III
FM Phase III: Slump in auction, with sole exception of Muzaffarpur leaping to over Rs 33 million
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.
