NEW DELHI: The Government has spent over Rs 780 crore by way of advertisements, of which a major part went to audio-visual advertisements, during the past six months till March this year.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said these advertisements were issued through the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity.

Rathore said in Parliament that a Committee set up by the Supreme Court for suggesting the guidelines on Government funded advertisements following a writ petition filed had advocated appointment of an ombudsman to receive complaints of violation of guidelines prepared by them and to recommend action in accordance with the guidelines.

The Committee also suggested that the ombudsman could recommend suitable changes to the Guidelines to deal with new circumstances and situations. Supreme Court took up the concerned writ petition for hearing on 17 February, 2015 when it reserved its judgment.

The details of the expenditure by DAVP in the last six months are: