The policy will enable CBC to empanel agencies and organisations in the OTT
New Delhi:
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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
