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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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: People of Delhi have explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate, AAP's prominent face Manish Sisodia said as he clinched victory on the Patparganj seat.

Sisodia, who retained his seat for the third time, said the BJP indulged in "politics of hate", but people refused to be divided.

"I am happy to have won the Patparganj seat again. The BJP indulged in politics of hate, but I thank the people of Patparganj. Today, Delhi's people have chosen a government which works for them and explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate," he told reporters.

Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister and led the government's education reforms agenda, defeated BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi by a margin of over 3,500 votes.

The initial trends saw a seesaw battle between Sisodia and Negi.

In 2013, Sisodia had won by a margin of 11,000 votes and in 2015 by over 28,000 votes.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Mumbai, Mar 9: India's Yes Bank will not be merged with State Bank of India, which is set to infuse funds in the beleaguered lender, the newly appointed administrator leading the rescue plan said in a television interview on Monday.

"There is absolutely no question of a merger," Prashant Kumar, the administrator, told the CNBC TV18 channel.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday took control of Yes Bank, after the lender - which is laden with bad debts - failed to raise the capital it needs to stay above mandated regulatory requirements.

Placing Yes Bank under a 30-day moratorium, the central bank imposed limits on withdrawals to protect depositors and said it would work on a revival plan. The move spooked depositors, who rushed to withdraw funds from the bank.

Kumar, a former finance chief at SBI, assured depositors their money was safe and that the moratorium on Yes Bank might be lifted much before the deadline on April 3 and normal banking operations might resume as early as Friday.

He also mentioned that the withdrawal limit of Yes Bank may be removed by March 15, 2020.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said on Saturday the state-run bank would need to invest up to 24.5 billion rupees ($331 million) to buy a 49% stake in Yes Bank as part of the initial phase of the rescue deal, adding that the survival of troubled lender was a "must".

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court while hearing petitions challenging restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday stated that the right to access the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

"It is no doubt that freedom of speech is an essential tool in a democratic setup. The freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," a two-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana stated while reading out the judgment.

The top court said that Kashmir has seen a lot of violence and that it will try to maintain a balance between human rights and freedoms with the issue of security.

It also directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review the restrictive orders imposed in the region within a week. “The citizens should be provided highest security and liberty,” the apex court added.

The top court made observations and issued directions while pronouncing the verdict on a number of petitions challenging the restrictions and internet blockade imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

The Supreme Court had on November 27 reserved the judgment on a batch of petitions challenging restrictions imposed on communication, media and telephone services in Jammu and Kashmir pursuant to revocation of Article 370.

The court heard the petitions filed by various petitioners including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin.

The petitions were filed after the central government scrapped Article 370 in August and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this, phone lines and the internet were blocked in the region.

The government had, however, contended that it has progressively eased restrictions.

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