Assam Govt Ad Spend Under Himanta Biswa Sarma

The Assam government's advertising expenditure has increased significantly, reaching ₹460.82 crore for the period between 2021 and 2026. This marks a sharp rise from the ₹145.01 crore spent in the prior five-year period.

Print advertisements dominated the overall spend. Out of the total ₹460.82 crore, ₹335.55 crore went to newspapers over the five-year period.

A substantial share of the government advertising spend went to Pride East Entertainment, a media group led by Rinikee Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Pride East Entertainment received ₹20.11 crore in government ads from the 2021-22 fiscal year up to August 2024.

This amount is nearly double the ₹10.4 crore that Pride East Entertainment earned in the previous 11 years combined. The company's annual payments dipped to ₹3.75 crore in 2022-23 before rising to its highest-ever yearly figure of ₹10.05 crore in 2023-24.

The figures are derived from separate assembly replies that cover different periods. While the overall government advertisement expenditure figures run until 2025-26, the specific data regarding payouts to Pride East Entertainment covers the period up to August 2024.

Among newspapers, local publications received the largest share of payouts between 2016 and 2026. The Assam Tribune topped the list with ₹43.1 crore, followed by The Sentinel at ₹30.20 crore.

Among national newspapers, the Times of India received the highest payout at ₹21.27 crore, followed by Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran.

Additionally, the polling agency Axis My India received ₹3.62 crore for outdoor advertisements, though the scope of its work was not disclosed in the official records.