The Registration of periodicals in India has been simplified and streamlined with the online Press Sewa Portal. The portal was set up after the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, came into effect on 1st March, 2024. The Act defines “periodical” as any publication, including a newspaper, which is published and printed at regular intervals, containing public news or comments on public news, but does not include a book, or a journal, including a book or journal of scientific, technical and academic nature. 

Any citizen of India or a person/entity registered in India under any law for the time being in force, can bring out a periodical, provided that he/she has not been convicted by any court for an offence involving any terrorist act, unlawful activity or an offence against the security of the State. Every publisher of a periodical shall, with the authorisation of the owner of the periodical, obtain a Certificate of Registration from the Press Registrar General. Therefore, those intending to publish periodicals need to register the Title/s of their periodical/s before starting the publishing of the periodical/s. 

For those seeking to publish a periodical, the first step in the process of registration is the submission of an online application through the Press Sewa Portal. Beginning with the creation of an account on the portal, individuals assume the role of the owner. Within this account, the owner is prompted to provide preferred Title/s for the proposed periodical/s, the place of publication, and the language of the periodical, all while adhering to the Title Verification Guidelines issued by the Press Registrar General of India. 

The owner of a periodical also needs to appoint a publisher through the online Press Sewa Portal. As per the Act, “publisher” means a person responsible for publishing a periodical; once appointed, the owner can request the publisher to sign up in the Press Sewa Portal and fill up the main Registration Form. The publisher, using his/her own account, fills out the form and designates a Printer/printing press. The Act defines a "printer" as the owner or keeper of a printing press; a "keeper" is the manager of a printing press owned by a non-individual entity/ a company.It is imperative that the selected printing press already holds an account on the Press Sewa Portal; otherwise, the owner or keeper of the printing press should create an account on the Press Sewa Portal promptly. 

Upon payment of ₹1,000 processing fee through the Press Sewa Portal, the application is officially submitted and a unique Application Reference Number (ARN) is assigned. It is noteworthy that the publisher is granted a five-day window to make corrections in the submitted application; however, no corrections can be made after this period. Once the five-day window shuts, the application goes to the office of the Press Registrar General of India and, simultaneously, to the Specified Authority in the State Government for further processing. For registration of periodicals in India, “Specified Authority” means a District Magistrate or Collector or any other officer notified by the State Government/ Union territory Administration. 

Upon verification that the Title options chosen by the publisher align with the Title Verification Guidelines, and are not the same or similar to any other Titles already allotted, and if no other deficiencies/violations are identified, the Press Registrar General, after examining the comments from the Specified Authority , issues a Certificate of Registration,. 

For any complications arising in the issuance of the Certificate of Registration, the office of the Press Registrar allows the publisher a 10-day window to send a reply. Publishers can conveniently submit their responses through the Press Sewa portal within this timeframe.

The publishers and owners of periodicals are advised to stay updated by going through carefully the Advisories and Guidelines, issued from time to time, by the Press Registrar General of India.