Parliament Question: Expenditure by the Government on Advertisements

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4178 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 EXPENDITURE BY THE GOVERNMENT ON ADVERTISEMENTS 4178. MS. IQRA CHAUDHARY SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA: MS. MAHUA MOITRA: SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ: SHRI NEERAJ MAURYA: ADV PRIYA SAROJ: SHRI DEVESH SHAKYA: Will the Minister of INFORMATION & BROADCASTING be pleased to state: (a) the details of total expenditure incurred by the Government on advertisements of Government schemes and policies on various platforms since 2014, year, scheme, print, TV, social and digital media platforms, Ministry and campaign-wise along with the funds allocated therefore; (b) the number of media organisations included in the panel during the said period; (c) the year-wise share of top 10, top 20 and remaining organisations in the total advertisement expenditure along with the objective criteria for this allocation; (d) the details of top 10 newspapers, TV channels and social media platforms in terms of amount spent by the Government on advertising Government policies and schemes since financial year 2023, year-wise; (e) whether any year recorded a significant increase in advertisement expenditure compared to previous years and if so, the administrative reasons therefor; (f) the total number of audit observations, Parliamentary Questions, complaints and formal representations received relating to bias, monopoly or lack of transparency in advertisement allocation; and (g) the corrective policy and transparency measures implemented to ensure fair and transparent allocation of Government advertisements?ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION & BROADCASTING; AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (DR. L. MURUGAN) (a) to (g): The Government, through Central Bureau of Communication, undertakes dissemination of information regarding its policies, programs and schemes through various media platforms including print, electronic, outdoor, digital and social media to ensure that citizens are aware of and can benefit from Government policies/schemes. Expenditure on advertisements of Government policies, programmes, and schemes is incurred in accordance with the requirements of various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India. Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) empanels various media agencies from time to time as per the policy guidelines. The list of empaneled agencies is dynamic in nature and is subject to review from the time as per policy guidelines. The details of year-wise advertisement expenditure are available on the website of CBC i.e. www.davp.nic.in. This allocation is done based on extant policy guidelines. The details of all newspapers, TV channels and social media platforms in terms of amount spent by the Government on advertising Government policies and schemes since financial year 2023, year-wise are also available on the website of CBC i.e. www.davp.nic.in. The Government has put in place detailed guidelines and procedures for the release of advertisements to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability. Representations, audit observations, complaints are dealt in accordance with these policies. These policy guidelines are available on the website of CBC i.e. www.davp.nic.in. *****