The Lok Sabha on December 21 passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, repealing the colonial era law of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session and will now go for the Presidential accent before it becomes a law. The new Bill allows facsimile editions of a foreign periodical to be printed in India with prior approval of the Central government and its registration with the Press Registrar General. Books which were part of the British-era PRB Act, 1867, have been taken away from the purview of the new Bill.
Introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha, Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said: “The Bill reflects yet another step of the Modi Government towards jettisoning mentality of slavery and bringing new laws for new India.”