Govt. Introduces New Rule For its Print Ads; Certification Must For 45,000+ Circulation
Information and Broadcasting Ministry has revolutionized the process of publishing Govt. advertisements in print media, especially newspapers. For the first time in the history, a ‘Marking System’ has been established to grade newspapers based on verified circulation.
As per the new policy, there would be greater accountability and transparency in allocating Govt. ads in various newspapers.
Christened as New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), the new Marking System has been introduced to “promote equity and fairness among various categories of newspapers/periodicals..”
This March this year, DAVP had released guidelines for Govt. ads on digital platforms like websites and apps.
What Is The New Marking System?
From now on, Govt. will check 6 factors for every newspaper, based on which advertisement rates and duration of advertisements would be determined.
These 6 criterions are:
- Circulation certified by ABC/RNI (25 marks)
- EPF subscription for employees (20 marks)
- Number of pages (20 marks)
- -Subscription to wire services of UNI/PTI/Hindustan Samachar (15 marks)
- Own printing press (10 marks)
- Annual subscription payment to PCI (10 marks)
DAVP will release Govt. ads based on marks obtained by respective newspapers.
Such marking system have never been introduced for print media before.
New Changes in Policy Framework
Besides this new marking system, a lot of positive changes have been incorporated, which will actually encourage newspapers to increase their reach and penetration.
For instance, any newspapers which claims circulation of more than 45,000 per day, will be mandated to obtain certification from Cost/Chartered Accountant/ Statutory Auditor Certificate/ ABC or Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India which is also known as RNI.
In case the certificate is obtained from RNI, then the validation shall be applicable for only 2 years, while ABC’s current certificate would be applicable.
Besides, Govt. has made it clear that DAVP holds the right and privilege to cross-check the authenticity of the certificates at any time.
Additionally, Ministry has also made clear cut rules for those newspapers which print multi-editions. In case there are more than one editions printed from different locations with unique content, then those would be treated as separate entities and thus, will have different RNI certifications. This would be only applicable in those cases where content is different.
Another interesting change: DAVP will release all payments via NEFT or ECS only.
In their press release, DAVP has been described as “the nodal agency of the Government of India for advertising on behalf of various Ministries/Departments/PSUs/Autonomous organizations which are funded by the Government.”
You can find complete details about the New Print Media Advertisement Policy here.
