Government unveils digital advertisement policy

The government on Friday unveiled a digital advertisement policy that will enable websites with a minimum of 2.5 lakh unique users per month and other digital platforms such as OTT and podcasts to get empanelled for publicity campaigns. The policy, unveiled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, will enable and empower the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) to undertake campaigns in the digital media space.

Besides rationalising the process of empanelling websites, the CBC now for the first time will be able to channelize its public service campaign messages through mobile applications, an official statement said.

The policy also introduces competitive bidding for rate discovery, ensuring transparency and efficiency. Rates discovered through this process will remain valid for three years and will be applicable to all eligible agencies.


According to TRAI's Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators January-March 2023, the internet penetration in India was more than 880 million, and the number of telecom subscribers was over 1,172 million.

The policy also seeks to streamline the process through which CBC can place advertisements for government clients' social media platforms, which were emerging as one of the popular channels of public conversations.

The policy also empowers CBC to empanel digital media agencies to enhance its outreach through the various platforms.

For empanelment with the CBC, websites and mobile applications have been classified into four categories - more than 20 million unique users (A+), between 10 and 20 million unique users (A), 5-10 million unique users (B) and 0.25-5 million unique users (C).

OTT platforms have been classified into two categories - more than 2.5 million unique users in category A and those with 0.5 to 2.5 million unique users in category B.

Podcasters or digital audio platforms should have a minimum of five lakh unique users to be eligible for empanelment with the CBC. Such platforms too have been classified as 'A' which have more than 2.5 million unique users and 'B' with unique users between 0.5-2.5 million.

The policy also empowers CBC to on board New and Innovative Communication Platforms in the Digital Space with the approval of a duly constituted committee.

It also introduces competitive bidding for rate discovery, ensuring transparency and efficiency. Rates discovered through this process will remain valid for three years and will be applicable to all eligible agencies.