Kathmandu, Oct. 31
The government has started the registration
and renewal of online media outlets through the Department of Information and
Broadcasting (DoIB).
By approving the Second Amendment to the
Printing and Publication Regulations, the government has arranged for the
registration and renewal of online news portals to continue under the DoIB,
following the same previous procedures.
The regulation was approved by the Cabinet on
Wednesday and was published on Friday in the Nepal Gazette. Following its
publication, the Department announced that the process of registration and
renewal for online media has officially begun.
According to Uday Bahadur Rana Magar, the
Director-General of the Department, the law had previously designated local
authorities to handle these tasks through the Chief District Officer (CDO).
Under the new provision, however, the Director-General of the DoIB has now been
designated as the local authority.
This decision has made the process easier
for many online media outlets whose registration and renewal had been pending
for a long time. Applications can now be submitted online, while those
requiring physical certificates must visit the DoIB in person.
With the active efforts of Minister for
Communication and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, the government has
streamlined the process so that registration and renewal of online media can be
completed directly through the Department. To register or renew, applicants can
log into the DoIB’s Information Management System and submit their application
online.
Institutions wishing to operate an online
media outlet must submit an application to the local authority with a fee of Rs.
5,000. Similarly, those seeking to renew their certificate must submit the
renewal application with all required documents and a fee of Rs. 2,500 before
the certificate’s expiry date.
As per existing laws, newspapers,
television channels, radio stations, and FM stations that are already
registered and operating may also register their online media, but only under a
domain name that matches their existing outlet’s name.
Institutions operating online media must
employ at least three staff members, including an editor. However, online media
outlets already registered and operating before the enforcement of this new
regulation will not be required to re-register under the new provisions.
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