Guwahati, February 18: The Assam government has spent nearly ₹400 crore on advertisements and publicity campaigns across various media platforms over the past five years, Information and Public Relations Minister Pijush Hazarika informed the Assam Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
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The details were shared in response to a question raised by Congress MLA Pradip Sarkar during the Assembly session. Hazarika said the expenditure was incurred to publicise government schemes, welfare programmes, policy initiatives, and public awareness campaigns through print, electronic, digital, and social media platforms.
According to the minister, the government spent approximately ₹330.74 crore on display and classified advertisements in newspapers and other print publications between June 1, 2021, and January 31, 2026. Print media accounted for the largest share of the publicity expenditure during the period.
Besides print advertisements, the government allocated over ₹69.39 crore for advertisements on electronic media, including television and radio platforms. Social media campaigns accounted for an expenditure of ₹37.8 crore, reflecting the government's increasing use of digital platforms to reach a wider audience. An additional ₹1.57 crore was spent on advertisements through other digital media outlets during the same period.
The minister also provided details of spending on outdoor publicity materials. He informed the House that more than ₹52 crore had been spent on banners, hoardings, posters, and other promotional materials since the financial year 2021–22.
The annual expenditure on these outdoor publicity activities stood at ₹12.82 crore in 2021–22, ₹6.68 crore in 2022–23, ₹7.86 crore in 2023–24, ₹3.99 crore in 2024–25, and over ₹24.69 crore during 2025–26.
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Hazarika maintained that the expenditure was aimed at ensuring that information about various government programmes and citizen-centric initiatives reached people across the state through multiple communication channels. He said publicity campaigns play an important role in creating public awareness about welfare schemes, developmental projects, and government services.
The disclosure came during the ongoing Budget Session of the Assam Legislative Assembly, where members sought detailed information on government spending across various sectors. The figures presented by the minister provide an official breakdown of the state's expenditure on publicity and media outreach over the past five years.
