Author: Sidharth Pandey
Publication: NDTV.com
Date: May 22, 2012
URL: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/government-s-ad-blitz-wastage-in-a-time-of-austerity-213938

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be advocating austerity measures but the government, whether it is the Centre or the states, seem far from frugal when it comes to spending.

Monday morning's newspapers in the national capital were full of advertisements on the 21st death anniversary of India's former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from various ministries, and even the Delhi government.

In just three years (between 2008 -2011), the Union government has spent over Rs. 58 crore to commemorate the birth and death anniversaries of former Prime Ministers and leaders figures. Of these, over Rs. 15 crore were spent on advertisements on Mahatma Gandhi and nearly Rs. 12 crore on those of Rajiv Gandhi's birth and death anniversary. The central government also spent close to Rs. 13 crore to commemorate Dr BR Ambedkar. Others who figured prominently on the government's list for issuing advertisements are former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh.

Through an RTI application, NDTV has learnt that Sheila Dikshit's government in Delhi has spent over Rs. 20 crore in the past five years on advertisements. Of these, almost five crore were spent on Mahatma Gandhi advertisements, four crore on Rajiv Gandhi and 3.6 crores on India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Delhi government spent almost Rs. 2 lakh on advertisements marking the 2010 Republic Day celebrations.

But Delhi isn't the only Congress government in the states with big money being spent on advertisements. In Andhra Pradesh, the state government has spent over Rs. 25 crore in the past three years. Of these nearly 8.5 crore was spent on advertisements commemorating YS Rajasekhara Reddy - popularly known as YSR - even as the party tried to distance itself from his son Jagan. The Andhra Pradesh government also issued advertisements worth 4.4 crore to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi, and spent Rs. 4.25 crore to mark the birth and death anniversary of his mother, Indira Gandhi.

It is not just the Congress that is generous with spending on such advertisements. Over the weekend, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool government in West Bengal plastered local newspapers with advertisements marking its one year in office. A week ago India woke up to full page spreads from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in an unparalleled advertisement blitz.

Even states which were ruled by the BJP have spent on such remembrances, though on a much smaller scale. For example, between 2007 and 2011, in Uttarakhand, the then BJP government spent Rs. 62 lakh for advertisements for Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And between 2002 to 2012, the state spent Rs. 10 crore on remembering leaders.

The Public sector and even some ministries also opened their wallets. And while the country may be grappling with huge power shortages, however, the Power Ministry spent Rs. 3.1 crore in just two years between 2008-2009. In fact, Public Steel maker, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), too chipped in with Rs. 1.5 crore in remembrance, while the Tourism Ministry spent one crore in 2011 on Rajiv Gandhi's death and birth anniversaries.