I&B Ministry
Smriti Irani moved out of MIB as Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore gets independent charge
MUMBAI: There’s change at the top at the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB). Smriti Irani has been moved out of her post as mininster and kept solely in charge of the textiles ministry. Replacing her is Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore – her minister of state – who has now been given independent charge of the MIB.
That things were afoot in the ministry was sounded out earlier this week. Irani cancelled her trip to Cannes where a strong Indian delegation is attending the film festival. Earlier it was announced that she would be leading an eight member panel to the famed French Riviera cinema confab.
Rathore – a former sportsman and army man – has been a permanent fixture in the ministry for the past four years as a state minister. He has patiently waited on the sidelines over that period and has finally earned his stripes getting independent charge of the MIB as the government gears up for the coming national elections in 2019.
Irani had, a couple of days ago, delivered the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture 2017 themed ‘Model of Broadcast: Landscape for Democracies’ during the course of which she had called the broadcast news landscape as a “spectator sport” in which the rush for audience ratings has reduced everything to “headlines competing with hashtags” in the wake of social media explosion taking place in the country that has provided a new pathway for information dissemination.
The media has been speculating about the reasons for her departure. Among them: the recent National Film Awards run in with president’s office about his presenting the citations to winners; and her views on fake news and journalists, and wanting to bring in curbs on online media. Sources close to the government rubbish these allegations as canards, stating that Irani has been a loyal party person and she steps into – and out of any – role that the high command asks her get into.
The Narendra Modi led government also announced other changes last evening. Finance minister Arun Jaitley- who has been ailing and was successfully operated for his kidney ailment on Monday – has been replaced by railway minister Piyush Goyal, who has been given its additional charge. That is until Jaitley gets back into action.
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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.
