Modi govt spending more on ads in Hindi newspapers

Agencies
September 8, 2019

Kathmandu, Sept 8: In a clear message to make deeper inroads into the Hindi heartland, the Narendra Modi government has spent over Rs 890 crore in advertising in Hindi newspapers compared to the over Rs 719 crore in the English newspapers in the last five years, an RTI filed by IANS has revealed.

At a time when print media overall is facing rough weather owing to stiff competition coming from digital platforms -- chiefly Facebook and Google which together share 68 per cent of digital ads globally -- Hindi and regional newspapers across the spectrum (large, medium and small) are defying the trend and flourish in the country.

Leading the pack in the 2014-15 to 2018-19 period was Dainik Jagran that received government ads worth over Rs 100 crore in the given time-frame.

Dainik Bhaskar received ads worth Rs 56 crore and 62 lakh, while Hindustan received government ads worth Rs 50 crore and 66 lakh (approximately) in the reported period.

Punjab Kesari was able to grab government ads worth Rs 50 crore 66 lakh (approx), and Amar Ujala received Rs 47.4 crore in government advertising, revealed the RTI.

Navbharat Times received government ads worth Rs 3 crore and 76 lakh (approx) and Rajasthan Patrika worth Rs 27 crore and 78 lakh (approx).

According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) for the second quarter (Q2) this year, Hindi and regional players have been the biggest beneficiaries of the readership growth.

When it comes to total readership, English dailies saw a slight growth from 2.9 per cent in Q1 to 3 per cent while Hindi dailies held its 17 per cent reach.

A recent Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) report said that the circulation of Hindi and regional language papers grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, as compared with 2 per cent growth in English-language papers for the FY2009-FY2018 period, according to media reports.

When it comes to English-language newspapers, The Times of India grabbed the biggest pie, grabbing over Rs 217 crore in government ad spend.

The Hindustan Times was second receiving more than Rs 157 crore in government ads, while Deccan Chronicle was a distant third with government ads worth over Rs 40 crore, revealed the RTI.

The Hindu (including The Hindu Business Line) received ads worth more than Rs 33.6 crore in the five-year period while The Telegraph received government ads worth over Rs 20.8 crore.

The Tribune received over Rs 13 crore while Deccan Herald got more than Rs 10.2 crore worth of government ads in the period.

The Economic Times got ads worth over Rs 8.6 crore while The Indian Express with over Rs 26 lakh and the Financial Express with over Rs 27 lakh worth government ads were other English-language outlets.

In the same period, the government spending on Internet ads witnessed nearly a four-fold rise. The spending on Internet advertising jumped from Rs 6.64 crore to Rs 26.95 crore between 2014-15 and 2018-19.

The government spent over Rs 5,700 crore on total advertising between May 2014 and March 2019.

During Modi's first term as the Prime Minister, a total of Rs 5,726 crore was spent in the five years for publicity purposes.

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News Network
February 6,2020

Feb 6: India has been ranked 40th out of 53 countries on a global intellectual property index, even as the country has shown improvement in terms of scores when it comes to the protection of IP and copyright issues, a top American industry body said on Wednesday.

India was placed at 36th position among 50 countries in 2019.

India's score, however, increased from 36.04 per cent (16.22 out of 45) in 2019 to 38.46 per cent (19.23 out of 50) in 2020, a 2.42 per cent jump in an absolute score.

However, India's relative score increased by 6.71 per cent, according to the International IP Index released by Global Innovation Policy Center or GIPC of the US Chambers of Commerce.

This year, it finds itself on the 40th place among 53 countries. Two new Index economies (Greece and the Dominican Republic) scored ahead of India. The Philippines, and Ukraine leapfrogged India.

"Since the release of the 2016 National IPR Policy, the government of India has made a focused effort to support investments in innovation and creativity through increasingly robust IP protection and enforcement," the GIPC said.

Since 2016, India has improved the speed of processing for patent and trademark applications, increased awareness of IP rights among Indian innovators and creators, and facilitated the registration and enforcement of those rights, it added.

According to the eighth edition of the annual report, India's score on the Chamber's International IP Index demonstrates the country's growing investment in IP-driven innovation and creativity. The Index specifically highlights a number of reforms over the last year that strengthen India's overall IP ecosystem, it said.

"In 2019, the Delhi High Court used dynamic injunctions to disable access to copyright-infringing content online, resulting in an increase in India's score on two of the copyright-related indicators," it said.

"The use of these injunctions places India alongside global leaders in copyright enforcement, including Singapore and the UK. As a result, India scores ahead of 24 other economies in the copyright indicators," the report said.

The Delhi High Court also issued a series of judgements that provide clarity on existing statutes related to trademark protection online, resulting in a score increase on one of the trademark-related indicators, it added.

The courts issued two precedential rulings that raised the bar for the damages awarded in IP-infringement cases and may provide a deterrent for future infringement. This resulted in an increase in score on one of the trademark-related indicators, it said.

Global Innovation Policy Center or GIPC said India also continues to score well in the Systemic Efficiency indicator, scoring ahead of 28 other economies in these indicators.

"This is a result of a concerted effort by the Indian government to consult with stakeholders during IP policy formation and create greater awareness about the importance of IP protection,” it said adding that India also remains a leader in the use of targeted incentives and IP assets for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“To continue this upward trajectory, much work remains to be done to introduce transformative changes to India’s overall IP framework and take serious steps to consistently implement strong IP standards," the report said.

GIPC has identified several challenges for India. Prominent among them being patentability requirements, patent enforcement, compulsory licensing, patent opposition, regulatory data protection, transparency in reporting seizures by customs, and Singapore Treaty of Law of TMs and Patent Law Treaty.

"We are encouraged that Indian policymakers seem to recognize this Index as a valuable resource in their efforts to strengthen the country’s promising innovation ecosystem and enhance its competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-based global economy,” the report said.

Observing that no other economy stands to gain more from strong Indian IP than India itself, the report said for example, no industry has been hurt more by copyright violations in India than the country’s own Bollywood industry, which loses almost USD3 billion to piracy each year.

"The number one way the Modi administration can demonstrate its commitment to the success of the Atal Innovation Mission, Accelerating Growth for New India’s Innovations, Make in India, Digital India, and Startup India is to strengthen its IP framework in ways that promote the legal and regulatory certainty necessary for greater R&D investment, high-value jobs, and greater innovative and creative outputs,” it said.

"Strong IP standards can further solidify India's position as the world’s fastest-growing economy, bolstering its reputation as a destination for doing business, foreign businesses’ ability to invest and make in India, thereby supporting the growth of India’s own innovative and creative industries," the report said.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

Ayodhya,  Aug 5: The Saryu Ghat was seen decorated ahead of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, sanitisation work was also done at the Hanuman Garhi temple in the morning ahead of the Prime Minister's visit. Strict security and COVID-19 protocols will be followed at the temple.

Prime Minister Modi will perform 'pooja' at Hanuman Garhi and Shree Ramlala Virajman before performing 'bhoomi pujan' of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had informed on Tuesday.

He will unveil a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone and also release a commemorative postage stamp on 'Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir'.

Around 175 eminent guests have been invited for the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of the Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir. Besides Prime Minister Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Mahant Nritya Gopaldas Maharaj, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be present on stage.

"175 eminent guests have been invited for the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir. 135 Pujya Sants belonging to 135 spiritual traditions will be present in the programme. Some eminent citizens of Ayodhya have also been invited," as per Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra.

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Agencies
May 27,2020

Global health experts on Wednesday said novel coronavirus is here to stay for more than a year and called for aggressive testing to prevent its spread.

In an interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, health experts Professor Ashish Jha and Professor Johan Giesecke talked about the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the series being aired on Congress social media channels.

While Jha exuded confidence that a vaccine will be available in a year's time, Prof Giesecke said India should practice a lockdown that is as 'soft' as possible, as a severe lockdown will ruin its economy very quickly.

"When the economy is opened up after lockdown, you have to create confidence among people," Harvard health expert Ashish Jha told Gandhi.

Jha is a professor of Global Health at TH Chan School of Public Health and Director, Harvard Global Health institute.

He said coronavirus is a '12-18 months' problem and the world is not going to be free of this till 2021.

The expert also called for the need for aggressive testing strategy for high-risk areas.

Gandhi, while interacting with the experts, said life is going to change post COVID-19.

"If 9/11 was a new chapter, this will be a new book," he remarked.

Professor Johan Giesecke, former chief scientist, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said India should have a 'soft lockdown'.

"The situation that India is in, I think, you should have a soft lockdown, as soft as possible," he said.

"I think for India, you will ruin your economy very quickly if you have a severe lockdown. It is better, skip the lockdown, take care of the old and the frail...," he noted.

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