The Union Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting has approved a digital advertisement policy to
enable and empower its advertising wing, the Central Bureau of Communication,
to undertake campaigns in the ever-growing digital media space.
According to the Information
Ministry, this policy marks a pivotal moment in its advertising wing’s mission
to disseminate information and create awareness regarding various schemes,
programmes, and policies of the Centre in response to the evolving media
landscape and the increased digitalization of media consumption.
The huge
subscriber base in the digital universe, coupled with technology-enabled
messaging options through digital advertisements, will facilitate the effective
delivery of messages in a targeted manner, resulting in cost efficiencies in
public-oriented campaigns, the ministry said in a press release Friday.
In recent years,
the way audiences consume media has witnessed a significant shift towards the
digital space. The central government’s ‘Digital India’ program has led to a
huge growth in the number of people in the country who are now connected to the
internet and social and digital media platforms.
As per TRAI’s
Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators January-March 2023, the internet
penetration in India as of March 2023, was over 880 million, and the number of
telecom subscribers as of March 2023 is over 1,172 million.
The policy will
enable CBC to empanel agencies and organisations in the OTT and video-on-demand
spaces.
CBC will also be
able to leverage the growing number of listeners to podcasts and digital audio
platforms through the empanelment of digital audio platforms.
Apart from
rationalising its process of empanelling internet websites, CBC now for the
first time, will be able to channelise its public service campaign messages
through mobile applications too.
With Social Media
Platforms becoming one of the popular channels of public conversations, the
policy further streamlines the process through which CBC can place
advertisements for government clients on these platforms. The policy also
empowers CBC to empanel digital media agencies to enhance its outreach through
various platforms.
The policy also
recognises the dynamic nature of the digital landscape and empowers CBC to
onboard new and innovative communication platforms in the digital space with
the approval of a duly constituted committee.
The CBC’s Digital
Advertisement Policy, 2023, 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.
In today’s era,
almost all Ministries/Departments of the Government of India have dedicated
social media handles, which produce a large quantum of infographics and videos
whose reach is limited to the subscribers of the handles.
This outreach of
government ministries and departments will be further supplemented by the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s Media Unit, Central Bureau of
Communication, which is the designated organisation for the issue of
advertisements through all forms of media.
ANI
