REVISED GUIDELINES FOR SYNDICATION
ARRANGEMENTS BY NEWSPAPERS
The Government has
decided to authorize all registered Indian newspapers to enter
into syndication arrangements with foreign publications, under
automatic approval route subject to fulfillment of certain guidelines.
Cases involving relaxation of the guidelines would, however, require
prior approval of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The Policy of
Government of India had so far allowed Indian newspapers and periodicals
to procure material like photographs, cartoons, crossword puzzles,
articles, features etc from foreign publications (content provider),
for publication in Indian publications, on the basis of syndication
arrangements having prior approval of Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting.
The automatic approval
route would be subjected to the following conditions:
- The total material so procured
and actually printed in an issue of the Indian publication does
not exceed 7.5 per cent of the total printed area of that issue.
- The syndicated material does not
include full copy of the editorial page or the front page of
the foreign publication.
- The masthead of the content provider
publication is not utilized in the Indian publication.
- Credit to the content provider
is necessarily given prominently as a byline in the Indian publication.
- The material procured under syndication
arrangement is such that has already been published in the content
provider publication.
Any case involving
relaxation of any of the above conditions would require to be
examined by the Ministry of I&B, and, before any material
is actually procured under syndication arrangement beyond the
above noted conditions, the Indian publication should have applied
for and obtained prior approval of the Ministry of I&B.
These guidelines
would not apply to the cases where Ministry of I&B has issued
its approval/no objection certificate for publication of Indian
edition of a foreign magazine/journal/newspaper
