Govt spent Rs 967.46 crore on advertisements in print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24

The minister said the number of periodicals, including newspapers which were registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India were 1,43,423 in 2020, 1,44,520 in 2021, 1,46,045 in 2022 and 1,48,363 in 2023.

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it had spent Rs 967.46 crore through the Central Bureau of Communication (CBI) for publicity of its schemes in the print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) releases awareness/publicity campaigns through print media in accordance with the Print Media Advertisement Policy, 2020.

"The details of expenditure incurred by CBC, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, on awareness/publicity campaigns about schemes and programmes of the government of India through print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24 (till 12 December, 2023) is Rs 967.46 crore," Thakur said.

The minister said as of March 31, 2019, 1,19,995 periodicals, including newspapers, were registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The number was 1,43,423 in 2020, 1,44,520 in 2021, 1,46,045 in 2022 and 1,48,363 in 2023.