Today, a circular of the union ministry of information and broadcasting asked all media houses – print, digital and television – to display the logo of Modi government’s pet campaign started in March this year. “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” is a 75-week “countdown” to celebrate the country’s 75th year of independence in 2023.

The advisory read: “As you may be aware, country-wide celebrations are being undertaken under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ campaign to commemorate the completion of 75 years of India's independence. The campaign celebrates the glorious history of our freedom struggle and journey of socio-cultural, political and economic progress over the last 75 years.”

It stated that media platforms may “consider” displaying the official logo of the campaign during “news programmes, reports, bulletins, especially while reporting on matters relating to 75 years of India’s independence,” so that viewers may be “informed” about the campaign and engage in public participation.

It ended by saying that “private media has consistently taken the lead in celebrating India’s patriotic spirit and national achievements”, advising it to use the logo during the period of the “celebrations”.

The advisory also had a QR code linked to the official logos in Hindi and English.