MIB refuses to amend self-certified ad mandate
In a meeting held in Delhi on Tuesday, MIB officials are believed to have said that the ministry will cooperate as much as possible but the mandate shall not change
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) today held a meeting with industry stakeholders to discuss the recent order of the Supreme Court directing advertisers and ad agencies to submit a self-declaration certificate before publishing ads on TV, print, digital and radio. The meeting was held in New Delhi.
According to sources, the ministry officials clearly stated that no changes will be made to the mandate and a self- declaration certificate will have to be submitted compulsorily. MIB will cooperate as much as possible but the mandate shall not change, ministry officials are believed to have told industry stakeholders in the meeting.
Some of the industry leaders, who attended the meeting, shared that the ministry officials refused to accept any feedback or extend the implementation date for the mandate, which is June 18
Industry leaders, meanwhile, expressed dissatisfaction with the government stand, stating that the policy makers should have consulted the stakeholders before implementing the mandate. While it is a Supreme Court order, the industry could have provided feedback about the viability of this plan, they say.
Industry watchers are of the opinion that there is a significant oversight on MIB’s part when it comes to the implementation of the order.
“It appears to be an impossible task, given that there are more than 8,000 agencies in the country handling over 6,00,000 brands,” said a source.
“Some big advertisers have multiple brands under their banner. If a self-declaration certificate is required for each ad, it will become tedious, and this may deter advertisers from advertising,” the source shared.
"Keeping in view the scale of the advertising industry of India, it is going to be a problem. There are a lot of small-town agencies and advertisers who aren't even on the internet, what about them? Either we will lose the business or we will lose the revenue," highlighted an official from a newspaper.
“The implementation of this is not only a cumbersome process but also inefficient,” said another stakeholder.
“For instance, even if a person goes missing and his family needs to publish an advertisement request at 2:00 am, they will have to go through the whole process of obtaining the certificate,” he added.
In accordance with the instructions issued by the apex court on May 7, self-declaration certificates will be required for all new advertisements starting from June 18. A buffer period of two weeks has been kept to provide sufficient time for stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the process of self-certification. Ongoing advertisements do not require self-certification currently.
In the declaration certificate, advertisers are required to attest that the advertisement in question do not make any misleading claims and adhere to all applicable regulatory requirements. For digital ads, the declaration has to be put up on the MIB website, and for print ads, the same has to be done on the Press Council of India website.
