Lok Sabha Question No. 4150 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Press Sewa Portal
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Smt. Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4150 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025)

## 'PRESS SEWA PORTAL'

## 4150. SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM:

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  steps  to  remove  the  procedural  hurdles  for  the registration process of newspapers and periodicals;
- (b)  If so, the details thereof and the manner in which the new system differ from the previous registration system;
- (c)  The key features of the Press Sewa Portal; and
- (d)  whether  there  are  any  measures  in  place  to  address  grievances  faced  by  users  while registering on the Press Sewa Portal and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION & BROADCASTING; AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS; {DR. L MURUGAN}

- (a) The Government has implemented the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act, 2023 and Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Rules 2024 with effect from 1 st March, 2024 after repealing the old PRB Act. The new Act has removed multiple approvals that were required  as  per  the  old  Act.  These  approvals  were  at  different  stages  for  starting  a

newspaper/printed publication in India. It has therefore immensely benefitted the publishers especially the small and medium newspapers/publishers.

The  new  PRP  Act  provides  for  the  use  of  digital  technologies  for  the  registration  of newspapers/periodicals  and  accordingly,  Press  Sewa  Portal,  the  single  window  online platform has been developed for the purpose.

(b) The enactment of PRP Act, 2023 and the subsequent development of Press Sewa Portal marks a major shift from the previous manual processes of registration of newspapers. As the Registration  process  is  online,  the  chances  for  discrepancies  in  the  application  will  be drastically  reduced,  thereby  facilitating  faster  processing  of  applications.  The  status  of application is updated at all stages and the same is informed to the applicant through SMS and email thereby ensuring transparency and eliminating delays due to miscommunication.

(c)  The  Press  Sewa Portal is structured into multiple modules, each designed to streamline specific  aspects  of  newspaper  and  periodical  registration  compliance  which,  inter  alia, includes the following features:

- Online Application for New Registration/New Edition of an existing newspaper.
- Online Application for Revision of particulars of Newspapers/Periodicals.
- Online Application for Ownership Transfer.
- Online Application for Ceasing of Newspapers/Periodicals.
- Online Application for Authentication of self-declaration for Newsprint Import.
- Uploading online electronic copy of Newspapers for regularity compliance.
- E-Sign authentication for District Magistrates.
- Automated notifications to Specified Authorities for pending applications.
- E-sign based Certificate Generation.
- QR + hash-coded digital certificates.
- Online Submission of Annual Statement.
- Automated penalty payments and fee collection.
- Real-time updates of financial records.
- Complete digitization of old registration record.
- Provisions for Legal and Regulatory Compliances under PRP Rules.
- Circulation Verification through Desk Audit.

(d)    The  Press  Registrar  General  of  India  has  implemented  multiple  mechanisms  for addressing  technical  issues,  registration  delays,  and  compliance  related  concerns  as  given below:

- Dedicated Telephone Helpline to address the issues of Publishers.
- Dedicated Email to receive/resolve the grievances.
- Regular online VC Meetings with the publishers to address technical issues.
- Regular Physical Meetings with the publishers by the Customer Relations Executives.

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