Should there be photographs of Prime Minister, President or CJI be in Government Advertisements?
Two days back the Apex Court of the country gave a ruling that hence forth the Government Advertisements should only carry the photographs of Prime Minister or President or Chief Justice of India. Government ads is a major source of income for media be it print or electronic media. Government issues hundreds of advertisements every day for various purposes like calling for tenders (for government works), showcasing their achievements, public interest advertisements (like the recent ones featuring actress Ms Vidya Balan for construction of toilets) etc. An estimated Rs 700 Crores was spent by the current government in the past one year on ads can give an idea as to how much is the government spend and the kind of exposure the individuals gets out of this exercise. The ads for Tenders which are issued by individual departments does not carry any photographs. However the ads issued by government showcasing their achievements carry the photographs of the Prime Minister ...