New Delhi, Nov 10 : The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced a new digital advertisement policy, aiming to facilitate the empanelment of websites with a minimum of 2.5 lakh unique users per month, as well as other digital platforms such as OTT and podcasts, for publicity campaigns. This policy empowers the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) to conduct campaigns in the digital media space.
The policy marks a significant development by allowing the CBC to channelize public service campaign messages through mobile applications for the first time. It also rationalizes the empanelment process for websites and introduces competitive bidding for rate discovery, promoting transparency and efficiency. The rates discovered through this process will remain valid for three years and will be applicable to all eligible agencies.
Considering the widespread internet penetration in India, with over 880 million users, the policy also addresses the need to streamline the process for placing advertisements on government clients’ social media platforms, acknowledging their role in public conversations.
The CBC is now empowered to empanel digital media agencies to enhance its outreach across various platforms. The empanelment criteria categorize websites and mobile applications based on unique user numbers, while OTT platforms and podcasters are classified into different categories based on their unique user counts.
For websites and mobile applications, the empanelment categories include more than 20 million unique users (A+), between 10 and 20 million unique users (A), 5-10 million unique users (B), and 0.25-5 million unique users (C). OTT platforms are categorized as more than 2.5 million unique users in category A and those with 0.5 to 2.5 million unique users in category B. Podcasters or digital audio platforms are required to have a minimum of five lakh unique users for empanelment.
The policy also enables the CBC to onboard new and innovative communication platforms in the digital space, subject to the approval of a duly constituted committee. It reflects the government’s commitment to adapt and optimize advertising strategies in the dynamic digital landscape.
