Government advertising campaign expenditure came down by 72.56% between 2017-18 and 2019-20

The government spent 72.56% less money on advertisement campaigns in print, TV and digital media to publicise its programmes and policies in 2019-20 compared to 2017-18, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said.

According to statistics provided by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the government spent a total of Rs 1,196.89 crore in print, TV and digital media in the last three financial years between 2017-18 and 2019-20. This does not include other modes of publicity like outdoor, pamphlets and other modes.

At a time the media sector has sought government support in terms of increasing its advertisement budget and clearing dues, the statistics showed that the expenditure fell from Rs 585.31 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 451.01 crore and Rs 160.57 crore in the next two fiscal.

Of this, Rs 892.43 crore or 74.56% of the total amount spent on Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns by the Bureau of Outreach and Communications (BOC) during these years on print media.

Only Rs 45.8 crore or 3.82% were spent on digital while the rest was spent on visual media, Javadekar said in a written response to BJD's Sasmit Patra on Monday.

Patra had sought information on the total amount of government advertisements provided to newspapers, TV, magazines and digital media over the past three years, category-wise and year-wise.

The BOC under the Ministry of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertakes IEC campaigns on behalf of the ministries and departments of Government of India with regard to their policies and programmes, Javadekar said.

The statistics showed that expenditure on advertisements in print media was Rs 462.22 crore in 2017-18 but decreased to 301.03 crore and Rs 129.18 crore in the next two fiscals -- a 72.05% between 2017-18 and 2019-20.

The TV saw an increase in advertisement revenue from the government in 2018-19 -- from 109.87 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 123.11 crore. However, 2019-20 saw a drastic reduction to Rs 25.68 crore.

Digital media (internet, SMS) also saw a similar rise and steep fall. In 2017-18, the BOC spent Rs 13.22 crore, which rose to Rs 26.87 the next year while 2019-20 witnessed a sharp slide to Rs 5.71 crore.

Expenditure on advt campaigns in print/TV/digital by Centre (Rs in crore)

	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	TOTAL
PRINT	462.22	301.03	129.18	892.43
TV	109.87	123.11	25.68	258.66
Digital (Internet, SMS)	13.22	26.87	5.71	45.8
TOTAL	585.31	451.01	160.57	1196.89

Regarding the representation from print media and others, including the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) regarding payment of dues on advertisement, Javadekar said the government has placed funds at the disposal of BOC for making the requisite payments and is continuously monitoring the outstanding dues. BOC is also following up for dues with other Ministries and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) concerned.

The representation of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for removal of 5% Basic Custom Duty on newsprint to help reduce the input cost of print media has been taken up with the Ministry of Finance for appropriate decision, he said in response to questions raised by MDMK's Vaiko among others.

In its representation before Javadekar, the INS had said that the print media was one of the worst affected sectors in India "hardly any revenue coming in" from either advertising or circulation”. It demanded a "two year tax holiday for newspaper establishments" besides an increase of 50% in advertisement rate of BOC and 100% rise in budget spend for print media. It also wanted an immediate settlement of payment towards all outstanding bills of advertising from BOC.

The News Broadcasters Association demanded a 50% hike in official advertisement rates, clearing dues of Rs 64.49 crore accumulated over the last ten years and a substantial increase in budgetary allocations of all central ministries and organisations for dissemination of information relating to Covid-19 through private satellite TV channels.