The Centre is preparing to announce a 26% increase in advertisement rates for print media, the first upward revision in six years, once the Model Code of Conduct for the Bihar Assembly elections is lifted next month, according to people familiar with the development.
The rate hike, under consideration for nearly three years, is expected to provide financial relief to newspapers navigating the twin challenges of rising input costs and declining advertising revenue, as brands continue to reallocate budgets from print to digital platforms.
“The revision has been pending for a long time and is aimed at supporting small and medium publishers that have been struggling to stay afloat,” a senior official from the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said on condition of anonymity.
A long-delayed revision
The last revision came in January 2019, when the ministry approved a 25% increase over the rate card set by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC), then known as the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). That hike followed recommendations from the 8th Rate Structure Committee, which had taken into account escalating newsprint and processing costs. The 2019 rates were valid for three years.
A new Rate Structure Committee was constituted in November 2021 to review the framework after its expiry. Despite several rounds of consultations and recommendations, the proposal remained stalled for nearly three years, the official said. Prior to 2019, the last adjustment had been made in 2013, when rates were increased by 19% over 2010 levels.
‘Part of a bigger reform’
Officials said the new revision forms part of a broader effort by the I&B ministry to strengthen its communication ecosystem. The ministry is currently working to integrate the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), Press Information Bureau (PIB), and the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), formerly BOC, to streamline coordination between outreach, publicity, and regulatory arms.
While the upcoming hike applies to print publications, a similar revision for television media is also being examined, they added.
Industry bodies like the Indian Newspaper Society have been pressing for a rate revision since 2022 due to a sharp rise in input costs and the contraction in ad volumes. Government advertising serves as a major source of revenue for small and medium publications that have been struggling to stay afloat especially after the pandemic.