Trinamool Congress Criticizes Government's Advertising Expenditure Surge
The Trinamool Congress criticized the Union government for an 84% increase in advertising expenditure from 2020 to 2025 and for not providing these details in Parliament. The government directed MPs to find the figures on the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity's website, prompting further criticism from the TMC.
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The Trinamool Congress has spotlighted a dramatic surge of over 84% in the Union government's advertising expenditure from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The party condemned the government's failure to present this information in Parliament, directing instead that figures could be accessed through the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity's (DAVP) website.
During a session on August 8, TMC leader Derek O'Brien demanded a breakdown of the government's spending on newspaper and television advertisements over the past five years. However, a written response from Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan directed Parliament to the Central Bureau of Communication's data online.
O'Brien criticized the government for evasive tactics and disclosed that an analysis of the DAVP data depicted significant ad spending peaks, particularly in 2023-24, a pre-election year. The TMC's scrutiny revealed total expenditures of Rs. 2,320.14 crore during the five-year span, averaging Rs. 454 crore annually for 66 ministries.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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