The government under Modi has spent around Rs 713.20 crore of taxpayers’ money to promote itself through advertisements in electronic media, newspapers, and hoardings among others over the last financial year. Replying to an RTI query filed by activist Jatin Desai, the Bureau of Outreach and Communication under the Ministry of information and broadcasting said that the Union government had spent a whopping Rs 1.95 crore per day, on an average, on advertisements between 2019 and 2020.

The Bureau said while providing the break-up of the total sum, that while Rs 295.05 crore was disbursed for print advertisements, Rs 317.05 crore was spent on electronic media, and Rs 101.10 crore was paid for outdoor advertisements. It, however, failed to furnish any information about the amount spent on advertisements spent by GOI on publicity in foreign media.

In June 2019, in response to another RTI query by Mumbai-based Anil Galgali, the ministry had said that it had spent Rs 3,767.2651 crore of taxpayers’ money on print, electronic, outdoor media, and printed publicity. In May 2018, yet another RTI reply to Galgali from the Ministry had revealed that the Modi government had splurged Rs 4,343.26 crore on advertisements and publicity in media since the BJP government took over the reins in June 2014.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.