On January 8, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced its decision to revise the advertisement rates for print media by 25 per cent over and above the existing rate structure. These rates are applicable to advertisements in the print media issued by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (erstwhile DAVP).

In its press release, the Press Information Bureau stated that the decision will come in effect from today and will be valid for a period of three years. “The last such revision had taken place in 2013 when an increase of 19 per cent had been announced over and above the rates of 2010,” the release stated.

The I&B ministry said, “This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the 8^th Rate Structure Committee constituted by I&B Ministry which took into account several factors, including the increase in the price of newsprint, processing charges and other factors which go into the computation of advertisement rates.”

It added: “The decision will be of great benefit especially to the medium and small newspapers including a large number of such papers in regional and vernacular languages.”