Government spent Rs 970 crore on ads in 2016-17 through Department of Audio Visual Publicity

The government has spent around Rs 970 crore on advertising through the Department of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) in 2016-17, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

An amount of about Rs 468 crore was spent for publicity through print media (newspapers and periodicals), while around Rs 315 crore for advertisements via television channels and Rs 182 crore through radio, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said in a written reply.

Besides, over Rs 5 crore was also spent for multi-media creative works, he said. In 2015-16, the expenditure on advertisements was over Rs 906 crore, including Rs 508 crore for print, Rs 281 crore for TV channels and Rs 111 crore for radio, the minister said.

The expenditure for advertisements on social media in the 2015-16 fiscal through the DAVP was over Rs 21 lakh. For 2016 -17, no expenditure was incurred on advertisements through social media.

In 2015-16, over Rs 4 crore was spent for multi-media creative works.