Digitalising Press Regulation: Assessing The Performance Of The Press And Registration Of Periodicals Act (PRP Act), 2023

Policy Update

Angela Rajeev

Introduction

The Editors Guild of India has said the Press Registrar’s emphasis must stay on “registration” and not “regulation” (Exchange4media, 2023). That line captures what is at stake in press law reform. Press registration in India began under colonial rule. The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 governed the print and publishing industry for well over a century (Press Information Bureau [PIB], 2023). It covered books, newspapers and periodicals under one law (PIB, 2023). Over time, the Act fell out of step with the changing media landscape (PIB, 2023).

Reform came in 2023. Parliament passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill in December of that year (PIB, 2023). The new law removed books from its scope and focused on periodicals (Onmanorama, 2024). It came into force in March 2024. Today the law is known as the PRP Act, 2023. It is seen as India’s digital-first press registration law. All applications for registration are made online through the Press Sewa Portal (Storyboard18, 2024). The Press Registrar General of India oversees the process (Storyboard18, 2024). Paperless processing, digital payment and digital certificates are now part of the system (Storyboard18, 2024).

The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 governed registration of printing presses and publications for over 150 years. Reports describe it as procedurally cumbersome, especially for small and medium publishers verifying titles and obtaining certificates (Onmanorama, 2024). Parliament moved to replace it in 2023. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on 3 August 2023 and the Lok Sabha followed on 21 December 2023 (Indian Printer & Publisher, 2023).

Introducing the Bill, Minister Anurag Thakur promised that title registration, which sometimes took two to three years, would be completed in 60 days . He also stressed a credible appellate mechanism headed by the Press Council of India’s Chairperson. The Act defines a periodical as a publication with public news or comments on it. It excludes books and scientific , technical or academic journals (Onmanorama, 2024). The Editors Guild urged a Select Committee review, citing wider registrar powers and vague provisions (Exchange4media, 2023). That review however did not happen.

Functioning

Press regulation in India begins with registration, and the PRGI is the office that handles it. As the official registry, it decides which titles are allowed, certifies each publication, and keeps track of how publishers perform through annual statements and circulation checks. It also publishes the Press in India report, which gives a public record of the sector (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting [MIB], n.d.). The process is simple. A publisher registers on the Press Sewa Portal, lists five title choices in order of preference, and pays ₹1,000 through Bharatkosh (Vikaspedia, n.d.).

Applications reach the Press Registrar General and the district’s specified authority simultaneously, and each receives a unique application reference number (S.S. Rana & Co., n.d.). The portal offers e-signatures, QR-coded digital certificates and title-availability probabilities (Storyboard18, 2024). Appeals against refusal, suspension, cancellation or penalty go to the Press and Registration Appellate Board within 60 days (Indian Printer & Publisher, 2023). Every registered periodical must file its annual statement by 31 May and circulation verification through desk audits is now a statutory duty (Indian Printer & Publisher, n.d.).

Performance

Government data points to strong digitisation and heavy enforcement. In a Lok Sabha reply, the Minister of State reported that over 1.5 lakh legacy registration records from the 1867 regime were digitised and placed on the portal. He added that specified authorities in 780 districts were onboarded, and that 11,081 applications were processed from 1 March 2024 (Exchange4media Staff, 2026). Penalties above ₹5.63 crore were imposed through the portal, and 88,315 periodical registrations were cancelled. The highest cancellations were in Maharashtra (12,403), Uttar Pradesh (11,987) and Delhi (11,920) (Indian Printer & Publisher, 2026).

The ministry’s annual report adds another measure. During 2024–25, PRGI declared 1,02,092 periodicals defunct for ceasing operations or not filing annual statements, while 4,499 new or revised registrations were processed (Indian Printer & Publisher, n.d.). The Rules require circulation verification for dailies averaging 25,000 or more copies for two years that are empanelled with the Central Bureau of Communication (Indian Printer & Publisher, n.d.).

PRGI has also tightened administration. Advisory 16 of 2025 stopped accepting physical registration applications and directed incomplete legacy files to the portal (PRGI, 2025a). Advisory 21 limited fresh circulation verification applications to financial year 2024–25 (PRGI, 2025b). Taken together, performance has been stronger on cleaning the register than on onboarding new publishers. Cancellations are far larger than new registrations, though the data cover different categories and periods. I could not locate budget allocations or CAG audits specific to PRGI, which itself suggests limited public performance reporting.

Source: Exchange4media Staff (2026); Indian Printer & Publisher (2026). Figures reflect different reporting periods and categories.

Impact

The headline promise was relief for small publishers. The government said online, simultaneous title allotment and registration would help small and medium publishers start publications with little difficulty (Exchange4media, 2023). Independent evidence that the promised 60-day turnaround is being met is thin. The available figures concern volumes processed, not time taken.

The more visible impact so far is a purge of dormant titles, which may improve the credibility of the register on which advertising and newsprint entitlements depend. Press-freedom bodies remain unconvinced. The Editors Guild feared “intrusive and arbitrary checks” and objected to the continued power to enter publication premises (Exchange4media, 2023). Reporting on the Guild’s statement highlighted Sections 4(1) and 11(4), which bar persons convicted of terrorist acts, unlawful activity or acts against state security from publishing. The Guild argued such laws have been used liberally against journalists (The Wire, 2023).

Emerging Issues

Firstly, transition friction persists. PRGI still had to issue a notice about incomplete physical applications filed before the portal, more than a year after commencement (PRGI, 2025a). Annual statement filing has needed repeated deadline extensions, and circulation verification requests by email were discontinued (PRGI, 2025c). These signal compliance difficulty for smaller publishers with limited digital capacity.

Secondly, coverage is ambiguous. The Act defines periodicals as publications that are “published and printed” (Onmanorama, 2024), and PRGI describes its role as registering print periodicals (MIB, n.d.). Digital-only news outlets therefore sit uncomfortably outside a law titled as digitalising press regulation. Some commentary on the Bill suggested otherwise, so the actual scope needs official clarification.

Thirdly, the discretion built into the Act remains contested. The Guild flagged vagueness and open-ended rule-making powers, asking that key rules be written into the Act itself (The Leaflet, 2023). Character-based disqualification and cancellation powers carry risk when sanctions follow loosely defined grounds (The Wire, 2023).

Fourthly, transparency is weak. The two enforcement numbers, 88,315 cancellations and 1,02,092 defunct periodicals, come from different government sources with different framing, and neither is accompanied in the sources reviewed by a published breakdown of grounds or appeal outcomes (Indian Printer & Publisher, 2026, n.d.). Without that, the public cannot judge whether enforcement is proportionate.

Way Forward

Firstly, the state should publish an annual, machine-readable performance statement on the Press Sewa Portal. It should report registrations granted, median processing time against the 60-day promise, refusals with reasons, cancellations by ground, penalties by category and appeal outcomes. Digitisation only delivers accountability if its by-products are disclosed. Such data would let publishers, researchers and Parliament test whether the Act is easing entry or mainly clearing the register. It would also let PRGI separate genuinely defunct titles from publishers cancelled for technical non-filing, protecting small and regional publishers from automatic exclusion.

Secondly, the law’s discretionary and character-based provisions need safeguards. Suspension and cancellation should require written, reasoned orders and a meaningful hearing before the Press Registrar General acts, with clear thresholds for what counts as a disqualifying offence. The Appellate Board should be adequately staffed, with timelines for decisions and published orders. Rule-making should be consolidated and consulted upon, so key conditions sit in clearly defined, public instruments. The principle should remain that registration is a facilitative act, and regulation of content belongs to other, narrowly framed laws.

Thirdly, assisted digitisation and scope clarity should precede deeper enforcement. Regional-language interfaces, district-level help desks and phased deadlines can ease the compliance burden for small and rural publishers who lack digital capacity. Parallel to this, the government should clarify in writing how the Act treats digital-only news, avoiding overlap with other digital media rules. A periodic, participatory review involving editors’ bodies, the Press Council of India and publisher associations would help keep the system proportionate, inclusive and credible as the portal matures.

References

Exchange4media Staff. (2024, March). New Press & Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 comes into force. Exchange4media. https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/new-press-registration-of-periodicals-act-2023-comes-into-force-132922.html

Onmanorama. (2024, March 5). New Press and Registration of Periodicals Act. https://www.onmanorama.com/news/india/2024/03/05/new-press-and-registration-of-periodicals-act.html

Press Information Bureau. (2023, December 21). Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023. Government of India. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2023/dec/doc20231221293301.pdf

Storyboard18. (2024, March 4). Registration of newspapers and periodicals goes online through Press Sewa Portal. https://www.storyboard18.com/amp/quantum-brief/registration-of-newspapers-and-periodicals-goes-online-through-press-sewa-portal-25307.htm

Business World. (2023, December 21). Lok Sabha passes Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023. https://businessworld.in/article/lok-sabha-passes-press-and-registration-of-periodicals-bill-2023-503109

Exchange4media. (2023). Editors Guild raises concern on Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill. https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/editors-guild-raises-concern-on-press-and-registration-of-periodicals-bill-128980.html

Exchange4media. (2023, December 21). LS passes Press & Registration of Periodicals Bill; listing new title now easier. https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/ls-passes-press-registration-of-periodicals-bill-registration-of-new-title-now-easier-131581.html

Exchange4media Staff. (2024). New Press & Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 comes into force. https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/new-press-registration-of-periodicals-act-2023-comes-into-force-132922.html

Exchange4media Staff. (2026, March 11). 88,315 publications cancelled, over Rs 5 cr penalties imposed via Press Sewa Portal: MIB. https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/88315-publications-cancelled-over-rs-5-cr-penalties-imposed-via-press-sewa-portal-mib-152792.html

Indian Printer & Publisher. (n.d.). 102,092 periodicals declared defunct in FY 2024-25. https://indianprinterpublisher.com/?p=96333

Indian Printer & Publisher. (2023). Lok Sabha passes Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill. https://indianprinterpublisher.com/blog/2023/12/lok-sabha-press-registration-periodicals-bill

Indian Printer & Publisher. (2026). Rs 5.6 crore penalty on publications, 88K registrations cancelled via press portal. https://indianprinterpublisher.com/?p=97157

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. (n.d.). Press Registrar General of India. https://www.mib.gov.in/ministry/organizations/press-registar-general-india

Onmanorama. (2024, March 5). It replaces the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. https://www.onmanorama.com/news/india/2024/03/05/new-press-and-registration-of-periodicals-act.html

Press Registrar General of India. (2025a, May 27). Advisory No. 16 of 2025. https://prgi.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-05/advisory_no._16.pdf

Press Registrar General of India. (2025b, June 27). Advisory No. 21 of 2025. https://indiannewspapersociety.in/pages/advisory_no._21_1.pdf

Press Registrar General of India. (2025c). Updates for publishers. https://prgi.gov.in/updates/updates-for-publishers?page=1

S.S. Rana & Co. (n.d.). Streamlining the process of newspapers and periodicals registrations in India. https://ssrana.in/articles/streamlining-the-process-of-newspapers-and-periodicals-registrations-in-india/

Storyboard18. (2024, March 4). Registration of newspapers and periodicals goes online through Press Sewa Portal. https://www.storyboard18.com/amp/quantum-brief/registration-of-newspapers-and-periodicals-goes-online-through-press-sewa-portal-25307.htm

The Leaflet. (2023). Editors Guild of India raises concerns over “draconian provisions” in the new Press Bill. https://theleaflet.in/editors-guild-of-india-raises-concerns-over-draconian-provisions-in-the-new-press-bill/

The Wire. (2023, August 6). Editors Guild calls Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill “deeply distressing”. https://thewire.in/media/editors-guild-calls-press-and-registration-of-periodicals-bill-deeply-distressing

Vikaspedia. (n.d.). Press Sewa Portal. https://vikaspedia.in/e-governance/online-citizen-services/government-to-business-services-g2b/press-sewa-portal

About the Contributor

Angela Rajeev is a graduate in Political Science and History, with a minor in Economics, from Christ University, Bangalore. She approaches her research with a passion for gender, public policy, and geopolitics. As a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI, she works at the intersection of policy and culture while exploring issues related to governance, society and international relations.

Acknowledgements

The author extends sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team for their guidance and support along with the reviewers Ms. Gargi Bisht and Ms. Mannat for their valuable feedback and insights.

Disclaimer

All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization

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