Madhava Menon panel submitted its report with guidelines on government ads

The Supreme Court appointed high-powered committee headed by Professor NR Madhava Menon submitted its report to the court on 6 October 2014. The committee in its report has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of advertisements paid out of tax payers' money.

The three-member committee that also comprised TK Viswanathan, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar has recommended that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents should not be mentioned in government advertisements. It supported its recommendation by stating that there had been misuse and abuse of public money on such advertisements.
 
However to keep politics away from such ads, it emphasized that only the pictures and names of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers should be published. The committee also endorsed the suggestions of the Election Commission that there must be severe restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to election.

Apart from this, the committee also recommended that a deadline should be fixed to prohibit their publication and the poll panel should be authorised for the purpose.

The committee also recommended that there should only be a single advertisement, preferably by Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in respect of commemorative advertisements, which are given on birth and death anniversary of an important personality.