I&B Ministry hikes advertisement rates for print media by 25 pc
New Delhi, Jan 8: The government has hiked by 25 per cent the rates at which the Bureau of Outreach and Communication releases its advertisements to the print media.
The government said 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. The opposition Congress, however, termed it as "yet another tactic" of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to try and change the narrative in its favour.
In the last such revision in 2013, rates were increased by 19 per cent over and above the rates of 2010.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken a decision to revise the advertisement rates for print media by announcing a hike of 25 per cent over and above the existing rate structure for advertisement in print media by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication, an official statement said.
The decision is with effect from Tuesday and will be valid for a period of three years.
The government said the decision has been taken on the basis of recommendations of the 8th Rate Structure Committee constituted by the I&B Ministry that took into account several factors including increase in price of newsprint, processing charges and other factors which go into computation of advertisement rates.
Reacting to the government decision, Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said: "Since 2014, we have seen how the BJP has tried to manipulate the media, has tried to silence the media and believed that they can buy the media because they are in power and because they have the power of money with them."
However, little do they realise that journalism cannot be silenced, media cannot be bought, and sooner or later they will have to pay a heavy price for it, she said.
"So, it is yet another tactic of the BJP, which is losing ground in 2019, to try and change the narrative towards its own self. They are going to fail spectacularly," the Congress leader said.
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Rupee surges 50 paise to 92.56 against USD in early trade after US, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 50 paise to 92.56 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced suspension of military strikes against Iran for two weeks.
Forex traders said the two-week ceasefire announcement triggered a wave of outsized bargain buying amongst the risk assets as Asian Stocks, Dow futures, Gold and Silver all rallied while Brent Oil fell below USD 100 to USD 96 per barrel.
The rupee in accordance surged to 92.56 levels, with the RBI deadline still in place till the 10th of April (regarding squaring of positions taken overnight up to USD 100 million) while the RBI announces its monetary policy today at 10 am.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.92 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.56 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 50 paise over its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 93.06 against the American currency.
Attention now shifts to the RBI’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of FY 2026–27. The key focus areas will be: RBI's outlook on inflation and growth, its assessment of global uncertainties and any indication of focus on currency stability.
"The tone of the policy will be closely tracked, especially given the rapidly changing global environment," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
The decision of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra, will be announced at 10 am.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.90 per cent at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 12.68 per cent at USD 95.42 per barrel in futures trade, after the announcement of the ceasefire.
President Trump announced a two-week suspension of military strikes against Iran just hours before his 8 pm ET deadline.
Iran agreed to allow safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire, triggering sweeping market moves across oil, equities and currencies.
The rupee is likely to remain range-bound with a bit of volatile moves between 92.50 to 93.50 as the markets await the RBI's monetary policy.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 2527.47 points or 3.39 per cent higher at 77,144.05, while the Nifty jumped 767.25 points or 3.32 per cent to 23,890.90 in initial trade.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 8,692.11 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
