I&B Ministry
Government bans four adult channels
MUMBAI: Now you see them now you don’t. The game of hide and seek that has been going on the last few years between adult channels trying to get around existing restrictions and the authorities has come to the fore again. The government has just clamped down on three erotic channels beaming off Asiasat 3 over Indian skies.
Three adult channels BlueKiss, BlueKiss Express, BlueKiss Promo and TBL have come under the government scanner in this regard.
The ban that came into effect late last week has been put in place as the government anticipates that these channels can be viewed by the Indian public after buying smart cards from abroad.
Though these channels are not freely available in India at the moment, the fact that they are being downlinked off Asiasat 3 means that anyone who accesses the smart card can get to view the content.
These channels air programming which are adult and explicit in nature, according to information and broadcasting ministry sources.
The programming of these channels breach the specified codes set by the government for channels beaming into India, irrespective of the fact whether they are uplinked from here or not.
Concerned with the possibility of increasing sleaze that could be available to India viewers through satellite channels, the Indian government had cancelled the uplinking permission for Cine World, an English movie channel, in the recent past for a month.
By and large, the Indian government has been fairly liberal as far as television channels are concerned. One of the rare cases of a clamp down related to PTV during the Kargil war, but the ban was for a limited period.
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the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.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.
