Rs 168.8 crore spent on print, electronic media advertisements so far this fiscal: Govt

The government has spent Rs 91.96 crore on advertisements in print media through the Central Bureau of Communication so far in this financial year, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday.

The government has also spent Rs 76.84 crore on advertisements in electronic media, Thakur said in a written response to a question by CPI-M leader M Selvaraj in Lok Sabha.

In 2014-15, the government had spent Rs 424.84 crore on advertisements in print media and Rs 473.67 crore on electronic media advertisements through the Central Bureau of Communication, the minister said.

The expenditure was Rs 508.22 crore (print) and Rs 531.60 crore (electronic) in 2015-16; Rs 468.53 crore (print) and Rs 609.15 crore (electronic) in 2016-17; and Rs 636.09 (print) and Rs 468.92 (electronic) in 2017-18.

The expenses stood at Rs 429.55 crore (print) and Rs 514.28 crore (electronic) in 2018-19; Rs 295.05 crore (print) and Rs 317.11 crore (electronic) in 2019-20; and Rs 179.04 crore (print) and Rs 101.24 crore (electronic) in 2020-21.

Thakur said no expenditure was incurred on advertisements in foreign media through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.