Modi government set to increase spending on advertising pet initiatives like Swachh Bharat, Make in India

NEW DELHI: Get ready for a barrage of publicity for schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Make in India as the government ramps up the showcasing of its initiatives halfway through its term. The Narendra Modi government is set to “significantly” increase spending on advertising its flagship welfare schemes, according to two people directly involved with the planned campaigns.

“Halfway through its tenure, the government is looking at increasing the thrust of communication and advertising. It will spend significantly more than the last two years on advertising campaigns for television, print and other media platforms. It will also look at more ways to reach out to citizens,” said one of the people. They did not reveal by how much the advertising expenditure for 2016-17 would increase.

The government spent Rs1,190.53 crore on advertising welfare schemes in various media in 2015-16 through the Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), the nodal publicity agency for ministries, departments and public sector units. This was a 19% increase from the amount spent in the previous financial year.

The schemes expected to get the maximum focus include Swachh Bharat, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Make in India, National Health Mission and Skill India. The government has been pushing these schemes aggressively since it got elected and the efforts are only going to increase.

The committed expenditure on advertising for the top seven flagship schemes — Swachh Bharat, Skill India, Make in India, Indradhanush, Mudra, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao — was Rs350 crore in the year ended March 2016, a 37% increase from the level in 2014-15, according to data from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

The five most advertised welfare schemes on television for the period from January 1to August 5 were Swachh Bharat, National Health Mission, Skill India, National Rural Health Mission and Pay Jal Aur Swachata Mantralaya, according to data from BARC India. Other government programmes advertised heavily on TV during this period were Save Fuel, International Yoga Day and the anti-tobacco campaign.

The objective of publicising these schemes is make the intended beneficiaries aware of the initiatives and benefit from them, said one of the people.