Context: Recently, the 19th meeting of Supreme Court -mandated Committed on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA) was held virtually.
Background

• As per directions of the Supreme Court, states are mandated to set up their respective three-member Committees on Content Regulation of Government Advertisements.
• As per the SC’s directions in 2015, the Government of India had set up a three-member committee in 2016 to look into content regulation of government-funded advertisements in all media platforms.
• States that have already constituted these committees: Karnataka, Goa, Mizoram and Nagaland.
• The State Government of Chhattisgarh has given its consent to the Central Committee to monitor the content of its government advertisements.

Key Points

• The CCRGA meeting took a serious note of the fact that other states have yet to constitute their respective state-level Committees.
• It was of the view that the delay in the part of the state governments to set up the committees may be construed as contempt of the SC’s order.

Supreme Court’s Guidelines about government advertisements:

• The content of government advertisements should be relevant to the government’s constitutional and legal obligations as well as the citizen’s rights and entitlements.
• The advertisement materials should be designed to meet the objectives of the campaign and to ensure maximum reach in a cost-effective way, and should also be presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner.
• It should be accurate and not showcase pre-existing policies and products as new. The advertisement content should also not promote the political interests of the ruling party.
• Advertisement campaigns should be justified and undertaken in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
• Government advertising must comply with legal requirements and financial regulations and procedures.