The new Press and Registration of Books and Publications Act that will replace the Press and Registration of Book Act, 1867, will not only cover newspapers, magazines and journals but also their internet editions, news websites and even newsletters that were hitherto exempted from registration.
For the first time in India, the new law also ventures into prescribing contents of the publication -- it will have provisions to limit the syndicated foreign news content. It also seeks to address the contentious issue of the foreign investments in the Indian media.
The Act is billed to streamline the age-old processes for registration and verification of newspapers and to lay down a new print media policy. There will be detailed verification of a title of a publication and statutory provisions for verification of circulation and filing of annual statements by the publishers.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters that any persons registering newspapers but not bringing them out in a stipulated period will also be dealt with under the new law thus discouraging non-serious
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