Yogi Government Spent ₹6,811.94 Crore on Publicity in Eight Years, Averaging ₹2.32 Crore Daily: Newslaundry Analysis
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spent ₹6,811.94 crore on publicity and government communication between the financial years 2017-18 and 2024-25, according to an analysis of state budget documents published by Newslaundry. The expenditure works out to an average of ₹2.32 crore every day, a figure that the report says is higher than the Centre’s average daily advertising expenditure during the Narendra Modi government’s tenure.
The expenditure was incurred through the state’s Information and Public Relations Department, which manages government advertising, publications, field publicity, film production and other communication activities. The department’s annual spending rose significantly during the period, recording its sharpest increase after the Covid-19 pandemic before reaching record levels in subsequent years.
According to Newslaundry, more than 83 percent of the total expenditure was directed towards the budget head titled “Advertising and Visual Publicity”, under which advertisements are issued to newspapers, television channels and digital media platforms. The publication said repeated Right to Information (RTI) applications seeking a detailed breakup of recipients were either rejected or left unanswered by the state government.
Publicity expenditure increased substantially during Adityanath’s tenure
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Uttar Pradesh after winning the 2017 Assembly election, and Yogi Adityanath took oath as Chief Minister on March 19, 2017. The first complete financial year under his government was 2017-18.
Budget documents analysed by Newslaundry indicate that publicity expenditure rose steadily over the years. The only notable decline came during the financial year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, after which spending more than doubled and remained above ₹1,300 crore annually.
The expenditure reached its highest level in 2022-23, an election year, before remaining at comparable levels over the following two financial years.
Year-wise publicity expenditure
| Financial Year | Total Publicity Expenditure (₹ Crore) | Key Observation |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 294.86 | First full financial year of the Adityanath government |
| 2018-19 | 330.00 | Moderate increase over previous year |
| 2019-20 | 481.67 | Sharp rise before the pandemic |
| 2020-21 | 392.88 | Decline during the Covid-19 pandemic |
| 2021-22 | 1,134.31 | Publicity spending more than doubled |
| 2022-23 | 1,420.03 | Highest annual expenditure in available records |
| 2023-24 | 1,366.34 | Slight decline but remained above ₹1,300 crore |
| 2024-25 | 1,391.18 | Increase compared with previous financial year |
Based on these figures, the total expenditure between 2017-18 and 2024-25 amounted to ₹6,811.94 crore. According to the report, this translates into an average spending of approximately ₹2.32 crore every day over eight financial years.
Budget allocation continued beyond the eight-year period
The report also examined budget provisions for the ongoing financial year. For 2025-26, the Uttar Pradesh government has earmarked ₹918.83 crore under various heads of the Information and Public Relations Department.
Since the financial year is still in progress, the report noted that actual expenditure figures are not yet available. If the entire allocation is utilised, total expenditure between 2017-18 and 2025-26 would rise to approximately ₹7,730.77 crore, taking the average daily spending over nine financial years to around ₹2.35 crore.
Comparison with the Union government’s advertising expenditure
One of the key findings highlighted by Newslaundry is the comparison between Uttar Pradesh’s publicity expenditure and that of the Union government. According to the report, the Narendra Modi-led central government has spent roughly ₹6,000 crore on advertising over the last eleven years, averaging about ₹1.5 crore per day.
Using that comparison, the publication said Uttar Pradesh’s average daily publicity expenditure under the Adityanath government exceeds the Centre’s average daily advertising spending despite being a single state government.
| Government | Period Covered | Total Spending | Average Daily Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh Government | 2017-18 to 2024-25 | ₹6,811.94 crore | ₹2.32 crore/day |
| Union Government (as cited by Newslaundry) | 11 Years | Around ₹6,000 crore | Around ₹1.5 crore/day |
Information department remained the centre of publicity operations
The Information and Public Relations Department handled the bulk of the state’s communication expenditure throughout the period covered in the analysis. Apart from issuing advertisements, the department is responsible for publications, field publicity, community radio and television initiatives, official photography services and film production related to government communication.
Newslaundry’s examination of state budget documents suggests that the department’s expenditure pattern changed significantly after the pandemic, with advertising becoming an increasingly dominant component of overall spending. The report also notes that while annual expenditure fluctuated in some categories, advertising and visual publicity consistently accounted for the overwhelming majority of the department’s budget.
Advertising and Visual Publicity Accounted for More Than 83% of Total Spending
An examination of the expenditure heads in the Information and Public Relations Department shows that Advertising and Visual Publicity remained by far the largest component of the government’s communication budget throughout the eight-year period. According to Newslaundry’s analysis of Uttar Pradesh government budget documents, this category alone accounted for ₹5,658.16 crore between 2017-18 and 2024-25, representing more than 83 percent of the department’s overall publicity expenditure.
This budget head covers government advertisements issued through newspapers, television channels and other media platforms. In recent years, the advertising network has also expanded to digital publishers and online platforms, reflecting the state’s increasing emphasis on multi-platform outreach.
Advertising Expenditure Saw a Sharp Rise After the Pandemic
The annual figures reveal that advertising expenditure remained below ₹400 crore during the first four financial years before recording an unprecedented jump after the Covid-19 pandemic. While spending declined during 2020-21 amid pandemic-related disruptions, it more than tripled within two years and has since remained above the ₹1,100-crore mark annually.
| Financial Year | Advertising & Visual Publicity (₹ Crore) |
|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 236.33 |
| 2018-19 | 271.90 |
| 2019-20 | 398.23 |
| 2020-21 | 311.46 |
| 2021-22 | 951.75 |
| 2022-23 | 1,158.06 |
| 2023-24 | 1,122.63 |
| 2024-25 | 1,205.06 |
The data indicates that the highest annual expenditure under this category was recorded in 2024-25, when advertising and visual publicity alone crossed ₹1,205 crore. Compared with the first full financial year of the government, annual spending under this head increased more than fivefold.
Publications Emerged as the Second-Largest Expenditure Head
Besides paid advertisements, the government also allocated substantial resources for official publications, including booklets, pamphlets, printed reports and books highlighting government programmes and development initiatives.
Between 2017-18 and 2024-25, expenditure under the Publications head reached ₹896.64 crore, making it the second-largest component of the Information and Public Relations Department’s budget.
The spending pattern broadly mirrored the trend seen in advertising. Annual allocations remained relatively modest until the pandemic before increasing sharply during the following two financial years.
| Financial Year | Publications (₹ Crore) |
|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 29.69 |
| 2018-19 | 27.51 |
| 2019-20 | 47.12 |
| 2020-21 | 52.50 |
| 2021-22 | 149.97 |
| 2022-23 | 227.44 |
| 2023-24 | 209.14 |
| 2024-25 | 153.15 |
The largest annual allocation for publications came in 2022-23, when expenditure reached ₹227.44 crore. Although spending declined over the next two financial years, it remained substantially higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Other Publicity Activities Formed a Smaller Share of the Budget
While advertising and publications dominated overall expenditure, the department also allocated funds to several other communication activities during the eight-year period.
| Category | Total Expenditure (2017-18 to 2024-25) |
|---|---|
| Field Publicity | ₹220.49 crore |
| Film Production | ₹20.32 crore |
| Community Radio & Television | ₹11.46 crore |
| Photo Services | ₹7.73 crore |
Field publicity accounted for the largest share among these secondary expenditure heads, while comparatively smaller allocations were made for official photography, community broadcasting initiatives and film production.
Additional Allocations Were Made Under Separate Budget Heads
Alongside the Information and Public Relations Department’s core publicity budget, the Uttar Pradesh government also made separate allocations in selected years for programmes linked to film promotion, journalists’ welfare and publicity surrounding national celebrations.
During 2021-22, the government earmarked an additional ₹15 crore for the Film Development Fund, ₹5.38 crore for the Journalists’ Welfare Fund and ₹1.67 crore for publicity related to Independence Day and Republic Day events.
In 2022-23, separate allocations included ₹15 crore for the Film Development Fund, ₹5.52 crore for the Journalists’ Welfare Fund and ₹0.99 crore for publicity connected with national celebrations.
For 2024-25, the budget again provided ₹15 crore for the Film Development Fund, while ₹2.98 crore was allocated for Independence Day and Republic Day publicity and ₹0.24 crore for the Journalists’ Welfare Fund.
These allocations were recorded separately from the department’s principal publicity expenditure and formed part of the state’s broader communication and promotional activities.
Advertising Continued to Receive the Largest Share in the 2025-26 Budget
The budget provision for 2025-26 suggests that advertising is expected to remain the government’s principal communication tool. Of the total ₹918.83 crore allocated to the Information and Public Relations Department for the financial year, the overwhelming share has once again been reserved for advertising and visual publicity.
| 2025-26 Budget Head | Allocation (₹ Crore) |
|---|---|
| Advertising & Visual Publicity | 705.14 |
| Publications | 171.12 |
| Field Publicity | 37.14 |
| Film Production | 2.74 |
| Community Radio & Television | 1.81 |
| Photo Services | 0.88 |
| Total | 918.83 |
If the full allocation for 2025-26 is utilised, cumulative expenditure by the department between 2017-18 and 2025-26 would rise to approximately ₹7,730.77 crore. According to the budget estimates cited by Newslaundry, advertising and visual publicity alone would account for about ₹6,360.56 crore of that total.
RTI Requests Sought Details of Advertisement Recipients
While the budget documents provide a year-wise picture of how much money was spent on publicity, they do not disclose which media organisations or platforms received the advertising allocations. To obtain that information, Newslaundry filed multiple applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Uttar Pradesh government’s Information and Public Relations Department.
According to the publication, the department did not furnish a comprehensive list of advertisement recipients. Some RTI applications reportedly received no response, while others were rejected on the ground that compiling such a large volume of information would require disproportionate time and resources.
As a result, the complete distribution of advertising expenditure among newspapers, television channels, digital media platforms and other outlets has not been made public through the RTI responses cited in the report.
Earlier RTI Response Revealed Television Advertising Expenditure
Although the department declined to provide detailed recipient-wise information in recent RTI applications, Newslaundry referred to an earlier investigation published in 2021 based on an RTI response received from the Uttar Pradesh government.
According to that report, the Adityanath government had spent approximately ₹160 crore on television advertising during a single year. Of this amount, ₹28.82 crore was reportedly paid to the Network18 Group, which the publication identified as being led by Mukesh Ambani.
The report cited this earlier disclosure while highlighting the broader issue of transparency in government advertising expenditure.
Government Advertisements Continue to Dominate Print Media
Beyond the financial data contained in budget documents, Newslaundry also documented the visibility of Uttar Pradesh government advertisements across newspapers during July 2026.
According to the publication’s observations, government advertisements appeared frequently across leading Hindi newspapers published from Lucknow, often occupying full-page, half-page and quarter-page formats.
| Newspaper (Lucknow Edition) | Period Observed | Total Government Advertisements | Break-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dainik Jagran | 29 Days (July 2026) | 54 | 3 Full Page, 32 Half Page, 19 Quarter Page |
| Hindustan | 29 Days (July 2026) | 49 | 3 Full Page, 29 Half Page, 17 Quarter Page |
Based on this observation, the report said readers of these newspapers encountered government advertisements almost every day, with some editions carrying multiple advertisements in a single issue.
Digital Advertising Has Become an Increasingly Important Medium
The report indicates that the government’s publicity strategy has expanded beyond traditional print and television media to include websites and digital platforms. According to documents reviewed by Newslaundry, online publishers have also received advertising campaigns from the Information and Public Relations Department.
One example cited in the report relates to asianetnews.com, which reportedly received ₹94.40 lakh for a 30-day banner advertising campaign beginning on March 14, 2026. The campaign included publicity for Swavalamban Udyam, “UP Mein Mahila Saksham Hai” and Superfast Raftaar.
The publication stated that an identical campaign was issued to oneindia.com during the same period for the same amount of ₹94.40 lakh.
Campaigns Were Also Placed on Other Digital Platforms
According to Newslaundry, the Information and Public Relations Department commissioned another month-long online campaign in January 2026 on the website of Amar Ujala.
The campaign promoted Mission Shakti and the Ujjwala Scheme and reportedly carried a cost of ₹70.80 lakh. The report further stated that government advertisements were also placed on platforms including ShareChat, indicating that publicity campaigns extended across a wide range of digital media channels.
Publicity Spending Extended Beyond the Information Department
Newslaundry’s investigation notes that advertising expenditure by the Uttar Pradesh government is not limited to the Information and Public Relations Department. Other government departments also issue publicity campaigns independently for programmes and events under their respective jurisdictions.
An RTI response cited in the report showed that the Department of Industries and Enterprise Promotion spent approximately ₹60 crore on publicity during 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Of this amount, around ₹12 crore was reportedly spent on publicity related to the Kumbh in Prayagraj, according to the RTI documents referred to by Newslaundry.
YourStory Agreement Detailed in Documents Reviewed by Newslaundry
The investigation also referred to documents that, according to Newslaundry, were examined by its reporters regarding an agreement between the Directorate of Industries and Enterprise Promotion and media platform YourStory.
The agreement, signed in July 2025, reportedly carried a value of ₹70 lakh and covered a broad content-production initiative centred on the state’s entrepreneurship and industrial promotion programmes.
| Proposed Deliverable | Details Mentioned in the Agreement |
|---|---|
| Success Stories | Documentation of more than 100 entrepreneurs, artisans and innovators associated with the One District, One Product (ODOP) programme across all 75 districts. |
| Promotional Film | Video highlighting local heritage, employment generation, artisan empowerment and the global reach of the “Made in UP” brand. |
| Coffee Table Books | Production of 500 books showcasing crafts, innovation and heritage from all 75 districts. |
| Regional Digital Content | Creation of reels and video features in regional languages promoting local craftsmanship. |
According to the report, these activities formed part of a broader promotional exercise undertaken by the Industries Department and were separate from the publicity expenditure routed through the Information and Public Relations Department.
Transparency Questions Continue to Feature in the Debate
The findings published by Newslaundry have drawn attention to two parallel issues: the scale of government spending on publicity and the availability of detailed information regarding the allocation of those funds. While annual expenditure figures are available through official budget documents, the publication said recipient-wise advertising data has not been disclosed in response to the RTI applications it filed.
The report argues that the absence of comprehensive disclosure makes it difficult to independently assess how government advertising expenditure is distributed across various media organisations and digital platforms.
Publicity Strategy Expanded Across Multiple Communication Platforms
The expenditure patterns outlined in the budget documents suggest that the Uttar Pradesh government’s communication strategy has evolved significantly during the period covered by the analysis. While traditional advertising through newspapers and television continued to receive the largest share of funding, official campaigns increasingly extended to digital news portals, websites and social media-based platforms.
According to the material reviewed by Newslaundry, publicity campaigns were designed around government schemes, welfare initiatives, industrial promotion and public awareness programmes. The report indicates that the government’s outreach now spans both conventional and digital media, enabling campaigns to reach audiences through multiple communication channels simultaneously.
Budget Trends Reflect a Shift in Public Communication Priorities
The year-wise expenditure data shows that publicity spending followed two distinct phases. During the first four financial years, allocations increased gradually before declining in 2020-21, the financial year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. From 2021-22 onward, however, expenditure rose sharply and remained above the ₹1,300 crore mark in successive years.
A similar pattern is visible in the department’s largest expenditure heads, particularly Advertising and Visual Publicity and Publications. Both categories recorded substantial increases after the pandemic, indicating that government communication activities expanded considerably during the latter half of the period covered in the analysis.
Key Financial Figures at a Glance
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Publicity Expenditure (2017-18 to 2024-25) | ₹6,811.94 crore |
| Average Daily Publicity Spending | ₹2.32 crore |
| Advertising & Visual Publicity | ₹5,658.16 crore |
| Publications | ₹896.64 crore |
| Field Publicity | ₹220.49 crore |
| Film Production | ₹20.32 crore |
| Community Radio & Television | ₹11.46 crore |
| Photo Services | ₹7.73 crore |
| 2025-26 Budget Provision | ₹918.83 crore |
| Projected Total (2017-18 to 2025-26, if fully spent) | ₹7,730.77 crore |
What the Available Data Indicates
Based on the expenditure figures contained in official budget documents, Newslaundry’s analysis concludes that advertising and publicity have remained a significant component of Uttar Pradesh government’s annual spending through the Information and Public Relations Department. More than four-fifths of the expenditure during the eight financial years was directed towards advertising and visual publicity, making it the department’s dominant budget head.
The report also points out that while overall expenditure figures are publicly available through budget documents, detailed recipient-wise information regarding advertisement payments has not been disclosed in response to the RTI applications cited in the investigation. As a result, the precise distribution of government advertising among individual newspapers, television channels, websites and other media organisations remains unavailable in the public domain through those requests.
Editorial Wrap
The analysis published by Newslaundry presents an extensive picture of how Uttar Pradesh’s publicity expenditure has evolved since 2017-18. According to the report, the state’s spending on government communication averaged more than ₹2.32 crore every day over eight financial years, with advertising accounting for the overwhelming share of the budget.
The findings are based on official Uttar Pradesh budget documents, supplemented by RTI applications and departmental records examined by the publication. While the financial data outlines the scale and category-wise allocation of expenditure, the report notes that complete recipient-wise details of advertising payments remain unavailable because the requested information was either not supplied or declined under the RTI process.
