The Centre has spent nearly Rs 1,700 crore in the last three years on advertisements in print and electronic media, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Tuesday.

Responding to a query raised in the Lok Sabha, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said the amount committed for advertisements by the government through print and electronic media during the period 2018-19 to 2020-21 is Rs 1,698.98 crore.

In his written response, he said, "The primary objective of government advertising is to create awareness of government policies and schemes among the intended beneficiaries, including the population living in far-flung and remote areas, through print, electronic and outdoor media." The data shared by the ministry showed that the government spent a total of Rs 826.5 crore on advertisements in newspapers. It said Rs 118.59 crore was spent on ads in 6,085 newspapers in 2020-21, Rs 200 crore in 5,365 newspapers in 2019-20 and Rs 507.9 crore was spent on ads in 6,119 newspapers in 2018-19.

For advertisements in electronic media, the government spent a total of Rs 193.52 crore in the last three years, it said.

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