I&B Ministry
I&B min requests ministries to clear dues to media
MUMBAI: The media industry has been in doldrums in India due to a massive drop in ad volumes. While the industry already experienced a slowdown in FY19, the countrywide lockdown has worsened the crisis. Post COVID-19 period, many of the media houses are sacking employees, cutting salaries, shutting down divisions and furloughing workforce, making a huge number of journalists and employees vulnerable. In this dire situation, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has asked other ministries to clear dues to the private media sector and the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC) in order to sustain the cashflow.
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As MIB is in urgency to have their funds released, it has, in a letter to the ministry of communications, ministry of electronics and IT, and department of posts, requested to make the payments to BOC at earliest. The payments are due for various communication and advertisement works undertaken in previous years. MIB has mentioned that it would enable BOC to release it for respective media houses.
The letter has also mentioned that if all payments due to the private media sector are made to them, it could prevent layoffs and pay cuts keeping the businesses afloat. It also noted that these media houses are supporting the government’s efforts to communicate with its citizens during the COVID-19 crisis.
So how much money do various ministries owe to the media sector?
According to a document sourced by Indiantelevision.com, total pending outstanding due to the media sector by several ministries stands at total Rs 230.82 crore, which include a due of Rs 68.77 crore to the television segment and Rs 99.14 to the print media.
Ministry of agriculture owes RS 6.14 crore
Ministry of communications and IT owes Rs 16.05 crore
Ministry of corporate affairs owers Rs 1.62 crore
Ministry of finance owes Rs 30.86 crore
Ministry of environment and forest owes Rs 2.33 crore
Ministry of health and family welfare owes Rs 55.81 core
Ministry of home affairs owes Rs 6.44 core
Ministry of human resources and development owers Rs 18.99 crore
Ministry of labour and employment owes Rs 19.96 crore
Niti Aayog owes Rs 13.05 crore
Ministry of rural development owes Rs 24.47 crore
Ministry of shipping, road transport and highways owes Rs 14.38 crore
Ministry of social justice and empowerment owes Rs 1.84 crore
Ministry of textile owes Rs 5.14 crore
Ministry of tourism owes Rs 4.83 crore,
Ministry of women and child development owes Rs 8.91 crore
MIB has also stated how the newspaper industry and FM Radio sector are under stress due to heavy input costs, import duty on newsprint and low advertisement and stoppage of transport respectively.
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.
