Modi government spends Rs. 3,755 crores on publicity

• The Modi government spent a whopping Rs.3,755 crore on its publicity in three-and-a-half years till October this year, reply to an RTI query revealed on Friday. The expenditure on advertisements from April 2014 to October 2017 on electronic and print media and outdoor publicity is Rs.3,754 crores according to the reply given by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The application was filed by Greater Noida-based social activist Ramveer Tanwar.
• Together with all states, the sum total advertising expenditure could easily exceed Rs.10,000 crores mark, which India can't really afford.
• In 2016, an RTI query filed by Tanwar had revealed that the Centre spent over ₹1,100 crore between June 1, 2014 and August 31, 2016, on advertisements featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The expenditure was only for television, internet and other electronic media only. The expenditure on outdoor and print advertisements was extra.
• The Central government, the reply says, spent over Rs.1,656 crore on electronic media advertisements, including community radio, digital cinema, Internet, SMS and television. In the print media, the government spent more than Rs.1,698 crore. Outdoor advertisements, which include hoardings, posters, booklets and calendars, accounted for over Rs.399 crore, the reply reveals.
• UPA government had announced austerity measures, but it spent about Rs 2,048 crore in advertising and publicity of its schemes over a period of three years, averaging about Rs 55 crore every month. In the run-up to the 2014 general elections, the Congress-led government spent Rs 380 crore in just one month i.e. March 2014. Information accessed through RTI by Mumbai-based Anil Galgali reveals that the UPA spent Rs 2,048 crore in 37 months. In 37 months, Rs 1,318 crore was spent on print media whereas Rs 729 crore was spent on TV, social media, radio, digital cinema and other communication. With Lok Sabha polls nearing, the UPA government spent over Rs 379.53 crore in March 2014, of which Rs 250 crore was spent on print media and Rs 128 crore on electronic media, internet and social media. A significant, but not entire, amount of government publicity funds are spent by DAVP. Sources said it was safe to assume that far more had been spent by the earlier government on publicity than revealed.
• The magnitude of the expense can be gauged from the fact that it takes Rs 1,750 crore to set up an IIT and about Rs 1,000 crore to establish an IIM in the country.
• The government’s allocation for “pollution abatement” in the last three years was only Rs. 56.8 crore.
• Needless to say that about 40-50% of the advertising amounts is either corruption or wastage of money.

While government advertising for its functioning and for communicating government schemes benefiting targeted lower classes is OK, political advertising is sheer wastage. This wastage must stop and advertising budget must be restricted to 20% of the present levels i.e. not more than Rs.20 crores per month. Any other spending indirectly not reflecting from budget - from PSU funds, contractor funding, pooling donations etc must be expressly prohibited and is nothing but corruption with quid pro arrangements and consequential losses to nation are immense. No one need to spend their money for government advertising, under any circumstances.