a) Whether the Government has prepared any plan to launch awareness campaign to make rural people aware of the Goods and Services Tax (GST);
b) If so, the details thereof along with the names of the institutions which have been assigned the said task in all the States including Rajasthan and Bihar, State-wise;
c) If not, the reasons thereof ?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)
a) Yes. Government has initiated a pan-India GST awareness campaign. The campaign includes:
(i) Advertisements in Newspapers, across the country in Hindi, English and regional languages.
(ii) Telecast of TV commercials in Doordarshan National Channel, DD news, Lok Sabha TV & major national Hindi/English News /Business channels & regional channels
(iii) Broadcast of radio jingles & spot on GST covering the entire country through more than 250 radio stations of All India Radio (including primary/local radio stations) and more than 100 FM radio stations and outdoor campaigns in a number of cities.
(iv) Pavilion of Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) in India International Trade Fair, 2016 held from 14th to 27th November, 2016, show cased the features and benefits of GST.
(v) A tableau on GST was presented in the Republic Day Parade 2017, at Rajpath which was seen by viewers all over India including from the rural areas. The event was telecast live on Doordarshan and also on other channels.
(vi) A comprehensive document, namely, ‘FAQs on GST’ has been prepared and made available on the CBEC website (www.cbec.gov.in) in Hindi, English and a number of regional languages.
(vii) Other information such as GST-Concept & Status etc. are also available on the above website for the benefit of public.
b) & c) (i) All these releases were made through Government of India’s nodal agencies such as Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Prasar Bharti and Lok Sabha TV.
(ii) To ensure the maximum outreach in the rural areas across the country, Doordarshan, DD News and local radio stations of All India Radio were aptly utilized for publicity of Goods & Services Tax (GST).