INS urges I&B Minister to extend validity of ABC certificate till March 31, 2022

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has approached the new I&B Minister, Anurag Singh Thakur, to extend the validity of ABC circulation verification certificate by the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The RNI had allowed print media the validity of Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) last ABC certificate [which is JD 2019] till July 31, 2021. Now, the INS wants the Minister to extend this circulation certificate’s validity till March 31, 2022, and has also sought that the current DAVP rates be allowed to continue till May 2022.

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Meanwhile, INS held the 22nd meeting of the CHD15 Committee via video call on June 18, 2021 to discuss the revision of Standard Newsprint specifications as one of the subject points.

INS stated the Indian newspaper publishing industry, though not satisfied with the quality of Standard Newsprint manufactured in India, has wholeheartedly supported the objective of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar’ all these years. Publishers have also engaged the domestic Newsprint industry to adopt best practices and incorporate global manufacturing & testing standards which will empower all stakeholders to meet their objectives synergistically.

INS placed some key points on record, which include:

1. INS should be provided a membership of the “CHD15 – Paper and its products” as it represents Newspaper publishers who consume Newsprint, which is one of the largest proportions of paper grades manufactured and imported into the country.
2. While the above is under consideration by BIS, it is most appropriate to have INS representation in the meetings till the critical subject of revision of Newsprint specification is not concluded.
3. We would like to point out that INMA’s request in the 18th June 2021 meeting for Newsprint consumption, machine details etc from INS members is not relevant to the subject discussion.
4. Based on the discussion in the last meeting, INS had sent across domestic and imported Newsprint samples to BIS for testing at the 3 institutes – CPPRI, IITR and IIP Mumbai. We request BIS to share with INS the test results and the technical comparison between imported and domestic Newsprint to enable BIS to determine the standards as per international norms.

INS has also expressed the hope that the revision in Newsprint quality standards will reflect the key concerns of publishers and increase the domestic manufacturers’ domestic Newsprint production and also create the opportunity for the domestic mills to export.