Rs 5.63 crore penalty imposed on periodicals: Govt in LS

Penalties amounting to over Rs 5.63 crore have been imposed on periodicals through the Press Sewa Portal and 88,315 publications across the country have been cancelled, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said all applications for registration of periodicals are now processed digitally through the Press Sewa Portal under the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act, 2023.

He said over 1.5 lakh physical records of newspaper registrations created under the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867, which has now been repealed, have been digitised and integrated with the portal.

Murugan said services such as registration of new periodicals, revision of registration of existing periodicals, ownership transfer, filing of annual statements, payment of penalties and circulation verification are being processed through the portal.

“As part of the implementation of the Act, specified authorities of 780 districts have been onboarded on the Press Sewa Portal,” he said.

Since March 1, 2024, 11,081 applications have been processed and certificates issued for relevant categories, the minister said.

According to the data provided by the Government, penalties amounting to Rs 5,63,83,000 have been imposed and paid through the portal across states and Union territories. The data also showed that 88,315 publications have been cancelled across the country.

Murugan said the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) continuously takes feedback and action to facilitate better services through the portal.

He added that the list of registered newspapers and periodicals is available on PRGI’s website under the “Registered Titles” tab.