Although India's National Labour Commission has stated wage boards are “archaic” and “dinosaur(s) from the past,” a board has been set up for newspapers, he said.

In his speech, Cama also pointed to threats to the newspaper industry, citing newspapers that were once allowed to be freely imported by readers, and are now regulated by the Registrar of Newspapers under a requirement for eligibility certificates, The Hindu reported.

“This certificate seeks to average out our imports for the last three years and based on that, allow us a restricted quantity for future imports. Additional imports if needed, now require bureaucratic clearances,” Cama said. “It was the Congress party 60 years ago that ushered in independence, and encouraged an independent media. I feel sad that 60 years down the line today, the Indian Government seeks novel ways to curb that very freedom of expression which released us from the shackles of imperialism.”