THE MISCHIEF CONTINUES

Ravindra Kumar
The Statesman, 21 October

On 2 October 2007, a public holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti, the Directorate of Audio-Visual Publicity, a department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued its new advertisement policy for newspapers. The policy made several and significant changes to the way government would spend money to advertise its various messages.

The new policy, which replaced one that was issued as recently as 1 June 2006, increased the quantum of government advertising for small and medium newspapers, and reduced it for big newspapers.

It also reduced the percentage of advertisements to be released to English-language newspapers, and increased it for those published in regional and other languages. Notwithstanding the public holiday, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Munsi, briefed journalists the same day about the changes.
In other words, the new policy targeted big (defined as having a circulation of more than 75,000 copies) English newspapers.

On 3 October 2007, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, chose to address the Indian Language Newspapers’ Association (ILNA), and delivered a homily on the need for media to inject “positive change”.

Curiously, Mr. Das Munsi, chose not to let his boss disclose the new policy, which was aimed at helping small and medium newspapers as well as language newspapers, the constituency represented by ILNA, especially when Dr. Singh’s engagement a day later was well known to him. Instead, he picked a public holiday to make the announcement.

Why this happened is not known to us, and it is pointless to speculate on the workings of a government whose Prime Minister often seems only notionally in charge. Whether the minister intended to slight the PM, or whether a force more powerful than the PM directed Mr. Das Munsi to act as he did must remain a matter for conjecture.

While it has been recorded in these columns that the government Dr. Singh heads has taken up initiatives targeting the Press in India, it must at this point be conceded that the possibility of these initiatives having emanated elsewhere deserves fair consideration. While Prime Ministers are expected to propel government, the position of Dr. Singh in terms of the control he exercises has been as out of sorts as a propeller on the latest Airbus-A380.

But let us look at what the new advertising policy of the government does, and what it does not do.

It raises the ceiling of advertising spend in rupee terms for small newspapers (circulation up to 25,000 copies) from 10 to 15 per cent. It raises the ceiling for medium newspapers (circulation between 25001 and 75000 copies) from 30 to 25 per cent. And it reduces the spend on big newspapers (circulation more than 75000 copies) from 60 to 50 per cent.

Further, it reduces the ceiling of advertising spend from 35 to 30 per cent for English-language newspapers. It retains the spend on Hindi newspapers at 35 per cent, and increases it for regional and other languages with emphasis on Bodo, Dogri, Garhwali, Kashmiri, Khasi, Konkani, Maithili, Manipuri, Mizo, Nepali, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Urdu and tribal langagues, from 30 to 35 per cent.

From a report in The Hindu, we are able to find evidence of a single Sanskrit language daily, published regularly from Mysore for the past 38 years, and having a circulation of 2,000 copies a day. This newspaper has survived many odds, and has a valid claim to more government advertising. There may be one or two other Sanskrit newspapers around, but if so it must be noted that they have managed to conceal their existence rather well.

However, we are stumped by the DAVP’s inclusion of Rajasthani-language newspapers within the category eligible for 35 per cent share of its budgets. Rajasthani does not figure in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, which lists the 22 official languages of India. Conventional wisdom has it that Hindi is the language spoken in Rajasthan. We must, though, make allowance for the fact that Mr. Das Munsi is also minister for parliamentary affairs and is perhaps privy to a constitutional amendment planned for the winter session of Parliament.

While Garhwali, Khasi and Mizo also do not figure in the Eighth Schedule, they are specific to a region and could arguably be considered for inclusion in DAVP’s list. But to make a specific provision for Rajasthani, when Rajasthan uses Hindi as its official language and has several newspapers of substance that cover the entire literate population of the state, defies logic.

There is a view that government – like any other advertiser – is entitled to lay down such rules as it wants to, to determine who should and who should not get its advertising. There is, however, a significant difference between commercial and government advertising; one is formulated for the purpose of reaching a narrow and specific audience while the other is aimed at disseminating information to the widest possible audience.

The bigger difference, though, is that commercial advertising is published at commercial rates, or at rates negotiated between the advertiser and the publisher. Government advertising comes to newspapers at rates determined solely by government, and these rates, imposed unilaterally, are a fraction of commercial or negotiated rates. The biggest difference, of course, is that government advertising is paid for with public funds, and therefore demands the highest accountability.

A policy review initiated within a year must also take account of the views and sentiments of those it targets. When the 2006 policy said that autonomous organizations and public sector undertakings would route their advertisements through DAVP, there was strong opposition, including in these columns.

The arguments against a PSU using the DAVP route were, and are, that this militates against the notion of a level playing field for companies in the public and private sector, and that in a liberalized economy all enterprises but especially public enterprises must survive without subsidy and must be driven by the need to make profits.

What does the new policy do? It tells PSUs they may issue advertisements directly at DAVP rates provided the size and language prescriptions set out by government are followed. Does that level the field or make it bumpier still for PSUs?


Ten months ago, this newspaper had highlighted how this government ~ of Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Singh, Mr. P.Chidambaram and Mr. Das Munsi, or of some of them at the least ~ was targeting the Press malevolently and viciously. So grave was the threat that the outgoing President of the Indian Newspaper Society in his Presidential address last month was compelled to draw repeated attention to the attacks, subtle and not so subtle.

The mischief continues. And the irony is that it is carried out in the name of a Prime Minister who calls himself an admirer of Jawaharlal Nehru.