I&B Ministry
Govt denies any plans to reduce DAVP allocations
NEW DELHI: The Government has denied that there is any move to drastically cut the budget of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP).
In fact, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that the publicity budget of DAVP has shown an increasing trend since 2009-10 onwards.
While the actual plan and non-plan DAVP expenditure for 2010-11 was Rs 90.92 crore, it was Rs 127.72 crore in 2011-12, Rs 139.75 crore in 2012-13, and Rs 222.47 crore for 2013-14.
The allocation of budget for advertisement and publicity of the schemes/programmes of an individual Ministry/Department is allotted by Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance, the Minister told Parliament.
Therefore, Javadekar said this Ministry cannot put any embargo on Ministries / Departments /Autonomous Bodies / Constitutional Bodies, etc. resorting to advertising.
In response to another question, the Minister said the money spent on electronic media and print media during 2013-14 was Rs 500.35 crore and Rs 446.68 crore, respectively. During 2012-13, the money spent on electronic media and print media was Rs 198.30 crore and Rs 404.38 crore, respectively.
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I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
