The Government of India has notified the historic Press & Registration of Periodicals Act (PRP Act), 2023 and its Rules in its Gazette and consequently the Act has come into force from 1st March, 2024. From now on, the registration of periodicals shall be governed by the provisions of the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act (PRP Act), 2023.
The steps involved in the registration of Periodicals through the new Press Sewa Portal are as follows:
- Signing up and Profile Creation by the Owner of a Periodical: To begin the registration process, the owner of the proposed periodical is required to sign up and create a profile on the Press Sewa Portal by furnishing relevant documents/details as required, along with 5 proposed Titles in the order of priority. These title options shall not be same or similar to a title already held by any other owner of a periodical either in the same language anywhere in India or in any other language in the same State, and these title options shall conform to the guidelines made by the Press Registrar General for this purpose.
- Simultaneous submission to Press Registrar General and the Specified Authority in the District: The Applications submitted through the Press Sewa Portal will be accessible/available to the Press Registrar General and the Specified Authority in the District simultaneously. Therefore, there is no need for any separate application to be submitted to any other office/portal.
- Invitation to the Publisher/s by the Owner: After creation of profile, the owner shall extend invitations to their designated publisher/s associated with their periodical/s, through the portal.
- Signing up and Online Intimation by the Printer (owner/keeper of Printing Press): The Printer (owner/ keeper of the printing press) is required to create an online account on the Press Sewa Portal by furnishing relevant details as required in the portal.
- Signing up and Profile Creation by the Publisher: The publisher/s so invited/appointed are required to create their profile on the portal by furnishing relevant documents/details.
- Selecting/Nominating the Printer by the Publisher: As part of the Registration process, the publishers are required to nominate/select their respective Printing Press from the Press Sewa database in instances where the Printing Press account is already available in the database. Otherwise, they may request the Printer to create an online profile in the Portal, and thereafter select them as Printer for the proposed periodical.
- Periodical Registration Application to be submitted by the Publisher: After creation of their profiles, the Publisher can submit the application for registration by filling/furnishing all relevant details/documents, e-signing the application, and by payment of prescribed fee through Bharatkosh.
- Correction Window after submission of Application: Subsequent to submission of applications, the publishers have 5 days (120-hour time-window) for making minor modifications in the application. No modifications in the application is possible after this period.
- Acknowledgement with a unique Application Reference Number: Upon successful uploading of the application, the Press Sewa Portal will generate an acknowledgement along with a unique ten-digit alphanumeric Application Reference Number (ARN), and the publisher and the Press Registrar General shall use the Applicant Reference Number for all future correspondences and references.
- Deficiencies in the Application and Timely Response: Following the initial scrutiny, the office of Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) will issue a deficiency communication, if warranted. The Publishers are required to submit their responses within a 30-day timeframe. Failure to adhere to this specified period will result in rejection of the application.
- Online Payment of Registration Fees through Bharatkosh: It is mandatory for all publishers to remit a registration fee of Rs.1000 (Rupees One Thousand Only) through the Bharatkosh digital payment system integrated into the Press Sewa Portal.
- Revision of Registration details: The Press Sewa Portal also provides online facility for revision of registration details. All applications for revising the registration vis-à-vis changes in particulars of the Periodicals are to be made through the Portal. These options will be available in the owner/ publisher profile.
