I&B Ministry
MIB stresses on digital, connectivity revolution; Google Play govt schemes
NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said the endeavour of the Government is to improve delivery systems, need to promote digital transformation and take forward the connectivity revolution in all sectors.
Speaking after the release of the Government of India Calendar 2017, he lauded the growth of the Indian print media and said it continued its growth story at a steady rate of 5.13% over the previous year. Earlier, Naidu launched the Government of India Digital Calendar 2017 App. He added that the calendar App could be downloaded from Google Play store free of cost.
A total of 5,423 new publications had been registered during the year 2015-16 with the total number of Registered Publications as on 31 March 2016 standing at 1, 10,851.
Giving the Circulation-wise details, Naidu said that Hindi publications continued to lead with 31,44,55,106 copies per publishing day followed by English with 6,54,13,443 copies and Urdu with 5,17,75,006 copies per publishing day.
He said the phenomenal growth of the print media sector had mandated changes in the print media policy/guidelines in the past years. The need to update policies keeping in mind the changing dynamics in the print media sector, has resulted in evolving a robust mechanism for RNI to maintain an updated list of Publications in the Country. This mechanism also facilitated weeding out illegal publications that may prove to be an irritant to law-enforcement agencies.
Referring to the New Print Advertisement Policy framework, the Minister said that it provided for circulation verification Procedure for empanelment of Newspapers and Journals with DAVP. The procedure involved certification by RNI if circulation exceeds 45,000 copies per publishing day.
He said the vision of the Government was to position the nation on a sustainable growth trajectory. The Government is committed to bring about transformational changes in the country with the mantra of ‘Reform, Perform & Transform’.
The vision has been depicted in the Government of India Calendar 2017 with the theme “Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai, Aage Badh Raha Hai”.
He also released the Press in India Report 2015-16 prepared by the Registrar of Newspapers of India. Minister of state for information & broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present on the occasion.
Naidu announced that the Government would be launching a 100 days campaign across the country on the theme of Good Governance from 25 December which marks the birthday of the former prime minister A B Vajpayee and is celebrated as Good Governance Day. Ministers, Members of the Parliament would be travelling across the country to highlight key initiatives of the Government that has been taken in the last two and a half years.
The Government Calendar meanwhile showcases various flagship schemes and initiatives of the Government identifying a different theme every month:
· Jan: Skilling India for Youth Led Development
· Feb: Empowering the Poor
· Mar: Sashakt Nari, Sashakt Bharat
· April: Futuristic India through Infrastructure Building
· May: MSME: India’s Economic Backbone
· June: Farmers: Bread Winners of our Nation
· July: Rural Electrification: Lightning Every Home
· Aug: Armed Forces: Pride of the Nation
· Sept: Cashless Transactions
· Oct: Swachh Bharat: New Vigour to Sanitation
· Nov: Corruption Free Governance
· Dec: Sugamya Bharat: Accessible India
The highlights of the Press in India Report is given below:
|
1 |
The Total Number of Registered Publications i) Newspaper category (Daily, Tri/Bi-weekly periodicities) ii) Periodicals category (other periodicities) |
1,10,851 16,136 94,715 |
|
2 |
The number of new publicationsregistered during 2015-16 |
5,423 |
|
3 |
Number of publications ceased during2015-16 |
15 |
|
4 |
Number of publications deregisteredduring 2015-16 |
22 |
|
5 |
Percentage of growth of total registered publications over the previous year |
5.13 % |
|
6 |
The largest number of publications registered in any Indian language (Hindi) |
44,557 |
|
7 |
The second largest number of publications registered in any languageother than Hindi (English) |
14,083 |
|
8 |
The State with the largest number ofregistered publications (Uttar Pradesh) |
16,984 |
|
9 |
The State with the second largest number of registered publications(Maharashtra) |
15,260 |
|
10 |
The number of publications that submitted Annual Statements (This figure includes 1,341 Misc. publications) |
27,445 |
|
11 |
The total claimed circulation of publications during 2015-16 i) Hindi Publications ii) English Publications iii) Urdu Publications iv) Marathi v) Gujarati vi) Telugu vii) Odiya viii) Malayalam ix) Tamil x) Kannada xi) Punjabi xii) Assamese xiii) Kashmiri |
61,02,38,581 31,44,55,106 6,54,13,443 5,17,75,006 3,67,88,737 2,88,28,334 2,76,45,134 2,03,12,592 1,55,57,673 93,39,722 64,85,082 59,31,641 13,90,759 1,37,450 |
|
12 |
The largest number of publications that submitted Annual Statements in any Indian language (Hindi). |
14,316 |
|
13 |
The second largest number of publications that submitted Annual Statements in any language (English). |
2,174 |
|
14 |
The largest circulated Daily: “Ananda Bazar Patrika”, Bengali, Kolkata. |
11,50,038 |
|
15 |
The Second largest circulated Daily:“Hindustan Times” English, Delhi. |
9,92,239 |
|
16 |
The largest circulated Hindi Daily:“Punjab Kesari”, Jalandhar |
7,36,399 |
|
17 |
The largest circulated Multi-edition Daily: “Dainik Bhaskar”, Hindi. (45 editions) |
46,14,939 |
|
18 |
The second largest circulated Multi-edition Daily: “The Times of India”, English. (33 editions) |
44,21,374 |
|
19 |
The largest circulated Periodical: “The Sunday Times of India”, English/Weekly edition, Delhi. |
8,02,466 |
|
20 |
The largest circulated Periodical inMalayalam: “Vanitha”,Malayalam/Fortnightly edition, Kottayam. |
6,94,291 |
|
21 |
Total Title Applications Received Titles Approved |
20,999 12,817 |
|
22 |
Titles Deblocked during 2015-16 (As they did not apply for registration within 2 years) |
7,754 |
I&B Ministry
CBFC speeds up film certification; average approval time cut to 22 days
Over 71,900 films cleared in five years as digital system shortens approval timelines
MUMBAI: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has significantly reduced the time taken to certify films, with the average approval timeline now down to 22 working days for feature films and just three days for short films.
Operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the statutory body certifies films for public exhibition in line with the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024. The rules prescribe a maximum certification period of 48 working days, though the adoption of the Online Certification System has sharply accelerated the process.
Over the past five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the board certified a total of 71,963 films across formats. Of these, the majority fell under the U category with 41,817 titles, followed by UA with 28,268 films and A with 1,878 films. No films were certified under the S category during the period.
Film approvals have also steadily risen in recent years. The CBFC cleared 8,299 films in 2020-21, a figure that peaked at 18,070 in 2022-23 before settling at 15,444 films in 2024-25. During the same period, 11,064 films were certified with cuts or modifications.
Despite the high volume of certifications, outright refusals remain rare. Only three films were denied certification over the last five years, with one refusal recorded in 2022-23 and two in 2024-25.
The board may recommend cuts or modifications if a film violates statutory parameters relating to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court or incitement to an offence.
Filmmakers can challenge CBFC decisions in court. Data shows that such disputes remain limited but have seen some fluctuation. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 21 certification decisions were challenged before High Courts, with the number rising to 10 cases in 2025.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan shared the data. The question was raised by Mallikarjun Kharge.
With faster timelines and a largely digital workflow, the certification process appears to be moving at a far brisker pace, signalling a shift towards quicker clearances for India’s growing film output.
