The government spent ₹3,260.79 crore on advertising in electronic media and ₹3,230.77 crore on advertising in print media since the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected to power in 2014, informational and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Responding to an unstarred question by Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Muniyan Selvaraj, Thakur provided a year-wise break-up of the advertisement expenditure by the central bureau of communication for print and electronic advertisements.
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According to the data provided by the union minister, in electronic media, the government spent the largest amount since 2014 amounting to ₹609.15 crore in the financial year 2016-17. The largest successive expenditure was observed in FY 2015-16 at ₹531.60 crore and 2018-19 at ₹514.28 crore.
Till December 7 this year, the expenditure for advertising in print media and electronic media stood at ₹91.96 crore and ₹76.84 crore, according to the data.
In 2014-15, the expenditure for print media and electronic media was recorded at ₹424.84 crore and ₹473.67 crore respectively. While, during 2019-20 the government shelled out ₹295.05 crore and ₹317.11 crore on print media and electronic media, respectively, Thakur said.
{{/usCountry}}In 2014-15, the expenditure for print media and electronic media was recorded at ₹424.84 crore and ₹473.67 crore respectively. While, during 2019-20 the government shelled out ₹295.05 crore and ₹317.11 crore on print media and electronic media, respectively, Thakur said.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the government spent ₹179.04 crore on print media and ₹101.24 crore on electronic media in 2021-22, said the union minister.
According to Thakur, across all eight years, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government tended to spend a larger amount on advertising in print media than electronic media, with the exception of 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.
Replying to a query on the government’s expenditure on advertising in foreign media, Thakur flatly stated, “No expenditure has been incurred on advertisements in foreign media through the ministry of information and broadcasting.”