| NEW
DELHI: In a bid to block titles by non-serious applicants, the government is in
the process of amending the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867.
"By 31 March
2010, we will put up a draft of the amended Act on the Ministry's website and
will then seek comments from various stakeholders before sending it to Parliament,"
said Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni. Soni
elaborated that it is the endeavour of the ministry to ensure more powers to Press
Registrar, RNI in registration/cancellation of titles for checking non-serious
players. Among
the amendments are taking books out of the ambit of the Act, and mentioning foreign
direct investment in the Preamble of the Act. The proposed amendments are presently
with the Law Ministry and would become law by the end of the financial year, the
minister indicated. On
the issue of raising the foreign direct investment in the print media from 26
to 49 per cent, Soni said that this required further debate. Soni
said the government would have to tread carefully in this regard as issues of
security were involved, and some had expressed the apprehension that a shareholding
of 49 per cent can be changed to a majority shareholding very easily by buying
out smaller shareholders. She
said that Government is evaluating the request of media houses in consultation
with Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). The minister urged the media
players to evolve a "consensus on the issue" within the industry before
the government could move further.
Soni,
while delivering the keynote address at the Indian Magazine Congress 2009, also
said that the Government is committed to proactively nurture the magazine business
in India. The
minister also turned down a request for permitting Indian advertisements on facsimile
editions of foreign newspapers, though she said Indians were free to advertise
in publications printed from overseas. The
minister was also categorical that all government advertisements have to go through
the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) as this was important
to sustain newspapers in smaller towns and for small and medium newspapers.
Pointing out
that DAVP had to take care of both print and electronic media advertisements,
the ministry is considering asking the National Film Development Corporation or
some other media unit to look after the electronic media advertisements.
She said though
the Finance Ministry had extended till the end of this year the special rates
permitted following the recession last year, the new rates of DAVP would be decided
by the report of the Rate Structure Committee expected by the end of this financial
year. She
wanted AIM to identify some representatives to take up issues relating to magazines
with the Government. The
country had a readership of 250 million which was growing with increasing literacy.
There were 69,000 newspapers and magazines in the country according to the Registrar
of Newspapers in India (RNI). Around 350 new magazines had come up in the last
few years despite the recession. Earlier,
Federation of International Periodical Press (FIPP) chairman Aroon Purie announced
that the World Magazine Congress would be held in India in 2011. He
noted that in the last five years, the Ministry had given approvals for publications
of 351 magazines/journals in FDI sector in the various genres of Indian entities
publishing newspapers and periodicals. Purie,
who is also promoter of the India Today Group, gave certain suggestions for improving
the environment for magazines. These included greater attention to quality, search
for new avenues like special issues, tap the language market, increase the cover
price, and explore opportunities for outsourcing.
FIPP Chief Executive
Officer Chris Llewellyn in a presentation said though the general trend was digital,
investment in that field was still at a low in India. | 
