E-Paper
Draft PRP Act rules: Faceless circulation audit, reduced registration timelines
The draft rules, which have been released for a 30-day consultation until February 4, say the Press Registrar General (PRG) can conduct or authorise central government officers for inspections
Periodicals getting or intending to get government advertisements and having a daily average circulation of over 25,000 in the preceding two financial years can be subjected to faceless desk audit to verify their circulation figures, according to draft rules for the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act.
The information and broadcasting ministry has proposed the rules days after the PRP Act was notified. The legislation seeks to simplify and digitise the registration of newspapers and other periodicals. It provides for setting up an appellate board to deal with issues related to the registration and decriminalises all but one offence.
The draft rules have been released for a 30-day consultation until February 4. They say the Press Registrar General (PRG) can conduct or authorise central government officers for faceless and physical verification of circulation figures in case it receives some information, reference, or complaint against any periodical.
This physical inspection of documents at the premises of the publisher and the printer can also be ordered if publishers have not regularly furnished annual statements. It can also be done when such action is recommended post-desk audit due to “exceptional circumstances”.
The PRG can order it if it decides that such verification is necessary due to any information, reference, or complaint received.
The provision in the law that authorises PRG to conduct the desk audit and the physical inspections through central government officers triggered criticism from the Editors Guild of India (EGI). Opposition Members of Parliament also opposed the provision when the legislation was discussed.
The EGI said only the Press Registrar should be the authority under the new law and no other government agency should be given any powers concerning registration of periodicals.
Speaking in Lok Sabha in December, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s Imtiyaz Jaleel opposed the provision. “It could be anyone – the ED [Enforcement Directorate], the police. You are granting the officials the authority to enter any newspaper office, conduct checks, and exercise control over it.”
The PRG will only authorise officers from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) as is the case now, HT has learnt.
Circulation figures were earlier verified physically. The number of verifications is now sought to be reduced through the faceless audit.
The draft rules lay down the procedures for the Press Registrar for digitally registering periodicals. They propose to create a Press Sewa Portal (PSP) for communication between the PRG and the owners, publishers, and printing presses of periodicals.
The portal, which is in an advanced stage of development, will have forms related to the registration of periodicals. It will allow the submission of annual statements and the PRG to communicate with the information and broadcasting ministry for comments on applications, etc.
The draft rules say printers must send an intimation to the PRG and the specified jurisdictional authority within 15 days of starting a printing press printing periodicals. An application and a ₹1,000 fee have to be submitted on the Bharat Kosh portal to start a periodical. The application needs to be simultaneously addressed and sent to the PRG and the specified authority within whose jurisdiction the periodical will be published.
The PRG will consider the specified authority’s comments while processing a publisher’s application. It requires giving a “speaking order” with reasons and publishing them on PSP If the application is rejected.
Unlike an Indian periodical, to publish the facsimile editions of a foreign periodical, the related Indian entity will first have to seek approval from the ministry by applying via the National Single Window System (NSWS).
The guidelines for this application will be made available on the NSWS.
The ministry can seek additional information and provide terms and conditions while approving applications.
An Indian entity will have to apply for a certificate of registration to the PRG via the PSP along with a ₹10,000 fee within 15 days of approval from the ministry. PRG will consider the ministry’s comments to process the application for publishing a foreign periodical.
The PRG can refuse certification and inform the ministry, which can then suspend or cancel the approval given If an entity starts publication before getting the certificate of registration.
For a change in place of publication, the PRG will seek comments from the specified jurisdictional authority of the new location within 60 days and issue a revised certificate of registration accordingly.
Registered publishers are required to upload electronic versions of their newspapers to the PSP within 48 hours of publication. Physical copies of the newspaper need to be delivered to the PIB and the relevant authorities at the level of states and Union territories to ensure periodicals are published continuously. Section 11 of the Act says the PRG can suspend the certificate of registration of a periodical if it publishes less than half of the issues it applied for registration.
A periodical must send an intimation to the PRG on the PSP within six months of discontinuation of the publication.
