The central government's spending on advertisements in print and electronic media has fallen by 75 percent over the last five years, data submitted by Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, in the Rajya Sabha on July 28 showed.
As per the data provided by Thakur in response to a question in Parliament, the expenditure incurred by the Centre on print advertisements through the Central Bureau of Communication in FY18 was Rs 636.09 crore, with another Rs 468.92 crore spent on advertisements in electronic media. Put together, print and electronic media ad spending was Rs 1,105.01 crore in FY18.
However, the numbers have steadily fallen since then.
In FY22, the Centre spent Rs 179.04 crore on print advertisements and Rs 101.24 crore on electronic media ads. In total, the spending was Rs 280.28 crore or just 25 percent of what was spent in FY18.
The ad spend could be even lower this financial year. As per data up to July 12, a mere Rs 19.26 crore had been spent by the Centre on print media advertisements, with another Rs 13.6 crore for electronic media ads.
In total, Rs 3,339.49 crore has been spent by the Narendra Modi government on print and electronic media ads since April 1, 2017.
Last week, Thakur had said in response to a different question in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre had spent Rs 20.58 crore on digital advertisements starting April 1, 2019, and until June 30, 2022.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
