India Shining campaign to be back today

India Shining, the communications campaign handled by Grey Worldwide (India) for the government, will be back on Friday after a period of about two months.

The campaign, designed to sell reforms initiatives to the masses, had been pulled off till December 1 by the information and broadcasting ministry. The Election Commission had raised objections to the series of advertisements in wake of the recently concluded Assembly elections.

Although it was not found to be violating the Election Commission's code of conduct, the I&B ministry had instructed all government departments to stop the 'India Shining' advertisements since the commission had voiced its objection. The campaign, to begin afresh on Friday, will project the positive state of the Indian economy because of the reforms programme of the government.

As planned originally, it will be spread across the print, outdoor, radio and the television media. The media plan has been prepared by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity.

"The remaining advertisements of the series will come out now. They reflect the upbeat mood of country. Although the campaign was postponed for some time, the economy has maintained its robust performance. Foreign exchange reserves have continued to pile up. There is confidence among businesses and consumers to invest and spend money. The economy is truly on a growth path and India Shining will reflect that," said Prathap Suthan, associate vice-president of Grey Worldwide (India).

The term India Shining has been coined by Suthan. "It projects how the economy actually is, which is different from 'dawning' or 'dazzling'. It represents an in-between state for the country," he had earlier said.

Shining returns

• The Election Commission had raised objections to the India Shining campaign in wake of the recently concluded Assembly elections.
• The campaign projects the positive state of the Indian economy -- mainly because of the reforms programme of the government.
• The campaign will be spread across print, outdoor, radio and television media.