I&B Ministry
Smriti Irani & Rathore retain two portfolios each, latter elevated
NEW DELHI: Textile minister Smriti Zubin Irani has also been made the union minister for information and broadcasting (MIB) in the allocation of portfolios after reshuffle and expansion of the Union Cabinet.
Irani was earlier given the additional charge of the ministry of information and broadcasting after M Venkaiah Naidu resigned following his nomination as the vice-president. It was feared that she would be divested of one of her two portfolios after the reshuffle, but she will continue to hold both.
Meanwhile, Col. (Retd.) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been elevated as the minister of state (independent charge) of youth affairs and sports, even as he will continue to hold the post of minister of state for information and broadcasting.
Irani comes from a media and entertainment background having been a television actress. Rathore is a professional shooter who won a silver in the Olympics and multiple medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games and is the recipient of both, a Padma Shri for sports and an Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for the Army.
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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the earlier paper-heavy system created under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which has since been repealed.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.
