During a meeting between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and the advertising and media industry bodies, the MIB emphasised the need to implement the self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandate by June 18, citing the Supreme Court order.
As per reports, the meeting, held by MIB Secretary Sanjay Jaju, was attended by Madison World Chairman Sam Balsara, representing the media agencies, Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) Secretary Sidharth Jain, Advertising Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) Manisha Kapoor, and Google India’s Satya Raghavan, among others.
Reports also highlighted that advertising and media organisations were anticipating that the MIB would propose solutions to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s verdict while addressing their concerns. However, the MIB informed the stakeholders that any delay in implementing the SDC mandate could lead to contempt of the Supreme Court’s order dated May 7.
Earlier, Supreme Court issued directive in its Order dated May 7, 2024, that all advertisers/advertising agencies must submit a SDC before publishing or broadcasting any advertisement.
Following the Supreme Court’s directive, the MIB introduced a new feature on the Broadcast Seva Portal of MIB for TV and radio advertisements and on Press Council of India’s portal for print and digital/internet advertisements. The certificate, signed by an authorised representative of the advertiser/advertising agency, needs to be submitted through these portals.
The self-declaration certificate is to certify that the advertisement does not contain misleading claims, and complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines, including those stipulated in Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of Press Council of India.
Advertiser must provide proof of uploading the SDC to the relevant broadcaster, printer, publisher, or electronic media platform for their records. As per the Supreme Court’s directive, no advertisement will be permitted to run on television, print media, or the internet without a valid SDC.
Earlier, MIB stated that the Supreme Court directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection, and responsible advertising practices. It urged all advertisers, broadcasters and publishers to adhere to this directive diligently.
