INTRODUCTION:
India has reported a hike in the growth of newspaper by 8%. And all the credit goes to the Registrar of Newspaper of India(RNI). The print publications in India account for an astonishing figure of 43% of all corporate advertising. Between the years of 2010 and 2014 India observed that revenues collected by newspapers are almost about 40%.
“Newspapers provide more clarity to readers who are confused and are looking for the facts after viewing still debate on TV channels “said by Arun Jaitley.
A newspaper must contain:
● The issue number, volume number, title prominently displayed on the cover page and all the other pages.
● Date line and page number and an imprint line containing the name of publisher, printer, editor and owner address of the place of Publication and name and address of the printing press
● If the printer and publisher are different individuals separate declarations are required to be submitted.
REGISTRAR OF NEWSPAPER:
In India, the publication of newspapers, periodicals and books are regulated by the Press and Books Registration Act, 1867(PRB Act). It came into existence as a statutory body on July 1956 on the recommendation of the Press Commission in 1953 and also by the amendment of the PRB Act which proposed the creation of such office.
PRESS AND REGISTRATION OF BOOK ACT, 1867
This Act has mainly been passed in the pre independence era to keep records of the books and publications in the country. The act has been amended 22 times eversince.
The Amendment to this Act(55 of the year 1955) was brought into force in July 1956 by notification of the government of India. In addition the RNI Rules 1956 was promulgated and the Registrar of Newspaper of India for India was appointed under 19(A) of the PRB Act of 1867, having its headquarters in New Delhi. The aimed to vest in the Union Government the authority to administer provisions of the act relating to newspapers. Although, it did not affect the powers of the State Government in any manner.
FUNCTIONS OF THE RNI:
The duties of the RNI can be classified into :
1. Statutory ; and
2. Non statutory functions
Now let’s discuss them in brief:
1. STATUTORY FUNCTIONS:
a. To compile and maintain a register of newspapers under section 19(C) of the PRB Act.
b. To scrutinize and analyse the annual statement sent by publishers of newspapers every year under 19(D) of the PRB Act.
c. To issue the certificate of registration to the newspaper under 19(C) of the Act.
d. To inform the district magistrate about the availability of proposed titles for intending publishers for filing declaration under section 6 of the PRB Act.
e. To verify the circulation claims of newspapers under 19(F) of the Act.
2. NON STATUTORY FUNCTIONS:
a. To issue eligibility certificate to the registered newspapers to enable them to import news print.
b. To issue essentiality certificate to import printing and composing machinery and allied materials.
c. To issue number of newspaper certificate under Foreign Contribution Regulations Act of 1976.
RNI REGISTRATION:
The Registrar of Newspapers must grant a RNI registration to those who wish to establish a newspaper , periodical or printing Publication in India. The Ministry of Information and broadcasting directs and controls, including framing the rules and regulations for the RNI under the PRB Act. The RNI must approve to the businesses of newspapers, magazines, journals accepted to come into business.
PROCESS OF REGISTRATION:
To be registered by the RNI the following steps must be followed :
1. VERIFICATION OF TITLE:
The Registration of Newspapers is a 2 step process. Firstly, the publisher must apply to the District Magistrate. The magistrate must verify the details in the application. The application must include:
● The name of the newspaper;
● The name of the owner;
● The language of circulation;
● Periodicity; and
● The proposed area of Publication.
The application thereafter is forwarded to the district magistrate for verification. When the verification is done the publisher and/or the printed must file declaration and after its authentication, the Volume 1 Issue 1 is to be released. Once verification is completed, a letter of title verification is issued and the RNI notifies the district magistrate about the availability of the title.
2. AUTHENTICATION OF DECLARATION:
Once the verification of title is obtained, the publisher should be presented to the district magistrate along with a proper filing of declaration (form 1) for authentication.
If the publisher and printer are different individuals then two separate declarations should be filed. Moreover, if the place and publication and printing press are in different districts, two separate decorations are required.
In case the documents are not received within a time span of 2 years of verification, the title automatically gets de blocked. this mechanism is derived from section 6 of PRB Act of 1867. Total 6508 titles were de blocks during the years 2016 and 2017.
The RNI maintains a manual system card before verification is computerized. Once the data files are verified on the RNI website, the intending applicants can have a rough idea of the existing titles before submitting their own. Recently the RNI has created an option for applicants to file applications online. The RNI receive approximately 20,000 application for title verification every year out of which only 9000 and verified.
3. CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION:
Registration process starts after the verification of the title. After confirming that the publication has been printed and published in conformity with the provisions of the PRB Act the publisher is provided with the registration number allotted to the newspaper and entries made in the register of the RNI. The certificate of registration is issued by the press register. A total of 4143 certificates were registered in 2016-17.
Example: the registration number issued as a serial number/year starting from 1/57 issued to “ Vishwa Jyoti’’ from Punjab till the registration 72557/99. After computerizing of data, a system of issuing registration number with state and language code is provided. First such serial number was issued to “Rashtriya Hindi Mail” with new registration number CHHHIN/1998/00001.
4. MAINTENANCE OF RECORD:
The Press Registrar is required to maintain a record in a prescribed manner under section 19 (B) of the PRB Act 1867. In 1999 the existing data was computerized and maintained there after in the form of computerised generated office copy.
5. PUBLICATION OF FIRST ISSUE:
The PRB Act states that the first issue should be published within 42 days of authentication if it is a daily or weekly. but if it is an issue with periodicity of fortnite or above the first issue should be published within 90 days of authentication.
Incase the printing press and place of Publication is in different districts, the date of authentication of place of Publication declaration filed by the publisher will be considered for calculating 42/90 days for the publication of first issue.
6. LIST DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR FINAL REGISTRATION:
The following documents must be submitted for the registration of a newspaper Publication:
1. A copy of the title verification letter issued by RNI.
2. Declaration (Form-1) filed by the Publisher and duly authenticated by DM/DC/SDM/JCP/CMM.
3. A written agreement between owner of periodical. In case the owner of the periodical and owner of the printing press are not the same, the agreement submitted must bear both the signatures.
4. A copy of the first issue i.e. volume 1, issue 1. While submitting the first issue, please, make sure that:
● The first issue of the periodical is published within 42 days of the date of authentication of declaration.
● The first issue has Volume 1, Issue 1 clearly printed on the front page.
● The issue carries the printed title, page numbers and full date of its publication.
● The title or the masthead is presented in a uniform font/letter size. Any variation should not exceed 25%.
● The published newspaper/periodical contains public news, views or comments.
● The newspaper/periodical must only be published in the languages verified by RNI.
● Use of symbols, graphics, emoticons, etc. in place of a syllable/letter in the title should be avoided.
● The imprint line in every copy must carry the correct and complete information.
A signed copy of the Printer agreement authorization in writing from owner(s), authorizing individual (by name) to make and subscribe declaration as publisher/printer, in the case where the publisher or printer making a declaration is not the owner thereof..
PRESS OF INDIA
The Press Register shall under 19(G) of the PRB Act, shall submit an early annual report containing a summary of the information collected by him during the year concerned in respect of newspapers in India giving a brief account of the working of that newspapers and the copies shall be submitted to the government.
The first such report was “PRESS IN INDIA” was submitted in 1956 to the Central Government on 30th April 1957,by the first registrar Shri M.L. Bharadwaj. Since then the Press in India is brought out every year on the basis of information provided by the publishers in the annual statement filed under rule 6(1) of the Registration of Newspapers Central Rules of 1956. Now, the Press in India is also being brought out in digital format.
JURISDICTION OF RNI:
RNI is a body that validate and authenticates newspaper publications. There times they have been accused of misfeasance and nonfeasance. In the case of Gopalakrishna Shenoy vs Government Of India, it was held that the RNI acted bonafide and verified on the basis of available documents and sources and did nothing outside their jurisdiction. RNI had also within its powers granted the title and verification to the respondent with just cause and reason. They were in no position to be blamed as there was no malafide intention.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE RNI:
The major achievements of RNI in the last few years are as follows:
a. Advancements in technology has now empowered the RNI to facilitate the applicants. They can now upload the application on the RNI website for public view.
b. Verification can be made online since 1st March 2015.
c. E-filing of annual statement has been implemented.
d. RNI can now send regular SMS and emails to applicants about the application status.
CONCLUSION:
The RNI office was formed to deal with the registration of newspapers, periodicals looking into the spike of newspapers and magazines in English as well as vernacular languages. According to a 2014 , Readership Survey Results, “Dainik Jagaran” Hindi newspaper top the chart with 16.6 million readers. It was thereafter are necessary to certify and grant titles to authentic newspapers in the market where there are more than 20000 intending applicants each year. The RNI has changed the outlook of newspaper registration in India and has come a long way since 1956. With proper law implementation it has a long journey ahead of it.
