THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR,
MARCH 20, 2026
In a significant outreach to
strengthen India’s print media ecosystem, the Press Registrar General of India
held an interactive session with publishers, printers, and owners of newspapers
across Odisha at the Press Information Bureau Bhubaneswar office on Friday,
focusing on streamlining processes under the Press and Registration of
Periodicals Act, 2023.
The interaction brought together key
stakeholders to deliberate on the use of the PRGI Press Sewa Portal and
evolving regulatory frameworks aimed at modernising newspaper registration and
circulation verification. Santosh Kumar, Additional Press Registrar General,
and Gaurav Sharma, Assistant Director at National Informatics Centre, led the
discussions, addressing operational challenges and inviting feedback from the
print media fraternity.
Emphasising transparency and
efficiency, the officials underscored efforts to make circulation verification
audits simpler and more credible. They also acknowledged technical glitches in
the Press Sewa Portal and encouraged stakeholders to share ground-level issues
to improve the system. Santosh Kumar noted that insights gathered during the
session would play a crucial role in ensuring the effective implementation of
the PRP Act, 2023.
Welcoming the initiative, Akhil Kumar Mishra, Additional Director General of PIB under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, highlighted the importance of such state-level engagements in bridging gaps between policymakers and media institutions. He said the initiative would enhance efficiency in newspaper and periodical publishing while facilitating smoother adoption of the new regulatory regime.
The session witnessed active participation from owners, publishers, and editors of various newspapers across Odisha, who shared their concerns and suggestions, making the interaction a constructive step towards a more responsive and digitally empowered print media framework.
