I&B Ministry
Venkaiah Naidu gets additional charge of MIB; Manoj Sinha bags Communications portfolio
NEW DELHI: M. Venkaiah Naidu is the new boss for India’s media and entertainment sector at Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) as the senior minister replacing Arun Jaitley who continues to be country’s finance minister.
Similarly, there’s a new Communications boss at the Capital’s Sanchar Bhawan that houses one part of the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MoCIT). Manoj Sinha will hold independent charge of Communications portfolio in the bifurcated MoCIT.
Earlier MoCIT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad retains control over IT & Electronics departments in MoCIT, while being given additional charge of Ministry of Law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi affected a reshuffle of his Cabinet on July 5, 2016, bringing in new people as senior and junior ministers and re-jigging portfolios of some existing ministers. With the induction of the newcomers, the council of ministers has been expanded to 78 members.
Both Naidu and Sharma, at the helm of crucial ministries, have additional responsibilities too.
While Naidu also holds charge at Ministry of Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Sharma too is a junior minister at Ministry of Railways.
Naidu will be accompanied at MIB by Olympics medallist-turned-politician Rajyavardhan Singh RathoreRajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who continues as the junior minister.
It remains to be seen how quickly the new ministers grasp complex issues such as digitisation, broadcast licences, content regulations, Net Neutrality, spectrum auctioning, while keeping pace with newer technologies being embraced by India’s media & entertainment and communications sectors.
Political observers of India’s complicated polity were divided in their opinion on whether the Cabinet reshuffle reflected talents been rewarded or people given ministerial berths with an eye on some up and coming State-level elections that are crucial for the nationalist BJP, which leads the government in New Delhi.
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.
