Union Sports minister Anurag Thakur/ File Photo
New Delhi: The Union government informed Rajya Sabha that it had spent Rs 3,723.38 crore on advertisement over the past five years through the Central Bureau of Communication, PTI reported.
However, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur also told the Upper House in a written reply that the said costs, spent on advertising the union government's policies and programmes, have not increased over the past five years.
The data shared by the government suggested that Rs 1,220.89 crore was spent on advertisements in 2017-18, while expenditure of Rs 1,106.88 crore was incurred in 2018-19, which was ahead of the general elections of 2019.
Replying to a question by Congress member Syed Nasir Hussain, Thakur said that the government spent Rs 627.67 crore in 2019-20, Rs 349.09 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 264.78 crore in 2021-22.
He said that the government had spent Rs 154.07 crore on advertisements till December 9 in the current financial year.
"As per the above data, expenditure on advertisement and publicity has not increased in the last few years," Thakur said.
Nassir Hussain had enquired whether the government was aware that the spending on advertisement and publicity had increased manifold in the last few years.