The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting yesterday said a Digital Advertisement Policy, 2023 has been approved, which will help the government widen its digital outreach.

The policy, according to an official statement, will enable and empower the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), which is the advertising wing of the Indian Government, to undertake campaigns in the digital media space.

The CBC’s new policy also introduces competitive bidding for ad 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.

This policy marks a pivotal moment in CBC’s mission to disseminate information and create awareness regarding various schemes, programmes, and policies of the federal government in response to the evolving media landscape and increased digitalization of media consumption.

The huge subscriber base in the digital universe, coupled with technology enabled messaging options through digital advertisements, will facilitate effective delivery of citizen-centric messages in a  targeted manner, resulting in cost efficiencies in public oriented campaigns, the MIB statement said.

In recent years, the way audiences consume media has witnessed a significant shift towards the digital space, MIB said, adding that as per Telecom Regulatory of India data, the internet penetration as of March 2023 was over 880 million and the number of telecom subscribers was over 1,172 million.

The Policy will enable CBC to empanel agencies and organisations in the OTT and video-on-demand space and it will also be able to leverage the growing number of listeners to podcasts and digital audio platforms through empanelment of such services.

Apart from rationalising its process of empanelling Internet websites, CBC now, for the first time, will be able to channelize its public service campaign messages through mobile applications too, MIB stressed.

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 recognizes the dynamic nature of the digital landscape and empowers CBC to on board new and innovative communication platforms in the digital space with the approval of a duly constituted committee.

The government said that the new The Digital Advertisement Policy 2023 has been formulated after wide-ranging discussions with multiple stakeholders and outlines the roadmap of enhancing its online presence.

The CBC operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.