Times of India: New Delhi: Wednesday, 23 July 2014.
At a time
when the Indian economy was facing a slowdown and the UPA government had
announced austerity measures, 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 (March 2014.)
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 could have set up at least two IIMs or a IIT if the funds were
channeled elsewhere.
Information
accessed through RTI by Mumbai-based Anil Galgali reveals that the UPA spent Rs
2,048 crore in 37 months. Galgali had filed a query with the Centre seeking
details of expenses incurred in publicity and advertising in the last three
years of UPA rule. The expenses include government campaigns like Bharat
Nirman. In an earlier RTI response, the government had said it had spent Rs 421
crore on Bharat Nirman between 2010 to 2014.
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.
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