In an attempt at improving UPA government’s image and creating awareness regarding its policies several government ministries are on an advertisement spree.
Three government ministries have spent over `50 crores during the last year on advertisement campaigns in the print media.
The defence ministry leads the government departments in advertisement spending at a whopping `66.78 crores.
It is closely followed by ministry of information and broadcasting at `56.85 crores and finance ministry with `56.64 crores.
The top three are followed closely by the health and family welfare ministry at `33.76 crores, consumer affairs (`16.76 crores), home ministry (`15.80 crores) and rural development (`11.64 crores).
The human resource development ministry (`9.16 crores), women and child development (`8.45 crores) and textile ministry (`7.85 crores) complete the top 10 ministries in advertisement spending.
The statistics regarding the advertisement revenue are regarding campaigns being routed through the directorate of advertising and audio visual publicity.
Official sources stated that the government is also likely to enhance its advertisement spending in upcoming years. With an eye on further expansion of advertisement spending the government has also proposed a new development communication scheme with a proposed outlay of `700 crores in the forthcoming 12th Plan period.
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Govt: visa to Pak nationals as per pactAge Correspondent
NEW DELHI, AUG. 10
India has said that visas to the Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan— who were detained for several hours at the Wagah border by the Pakistani authorities on Friday — were granted after “due diligence” and as per the visa agreement between the two countries.
It has also said that proper procedures were followed in the granting of visas to these pilgrims and these were given only under the categories specified under the visa accord.
Under the visa pact between the two neighbours, citizens of either country are granted visas under the pilgrim category or to visit relatives across the border in instances of families divided owing to the Partition. In the case of pilgrim visas, they are normally granted in groups to visit specific pilgrimage sites in either country. Conseq-uently, questions were being asked on the detention of the Hindu pilgrims at Wagah amidst so-called “concerns” that they were planning to stay on.