The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has approved a path-breaking “Digital Advertisement Policy, 2023” to enable and empower the Central Bureau of Communication, the Government’s advertising wing, undertake campaigns in the Digital Media Space.

Announcing the policy on Friday, the Ministry said that it marks a pivotal moment in CBC’s mission to disseminate information and create awareness about various schemes, programmes and policies of the Government, in response to the evolving media landscape and increased digitalization of media consumption.

The huge subscriber base in the digital universe, coupled with technology enabled messaging options in digital advertisements, will facilitate effective delivery of citizen-centric messages in a  targeted manner, resulting in cost efficiencies in public oriented campaigns.

In recent years, the way audiences consume media has witnessed a significant shift towards the digital space. The Government of India’s Digital India programme has led to a huge growth in the number of people connected to the internet, 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, is over 880 million, and the number of telecom subscribers, as of March 2023, is over 1172 million.

The Policy will enable CBC to empanel agencies and organisations in the OTT and Video on Demand Space. CBC will also be able to leverage the growing number of listeners to Podcasts and Digital Audio platforms through empanelment of Digital Audio platforms.

Apart from rationalising its process of empanelling Internet Websites, CBC now, for the first time, will be able to channelize 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 the various platforms.

The Policy also recognizes 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 supplemented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s Central Bureau of Communication which is the designated organisation for issue of advertisements through all forms of media.

The Digital Advertisement Policy 2023 has been formulated after wide-raging discussions with multiple stakeholders and outlines the roadmap of enhancing the Digital Outreach of the Government of India and improves information dissemination to citizens.

The Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) is responsible for creating awareness and disseminating information about various government programmes, schemes, and policies in India. CBC is committed to adapting to the changing media landscape and embracing new technologies to reach a wider audience.