In a first-of-its-kind move, the Centre has decided to place a substantial portion of advertising and publicity budgets allocated to union ministries and departments at the disposal of the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), the government’s nodal publicity agency under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.A recent Union Finance Ministry communication in this regard said the decision was taken “for effective dissemination of information about government policies and programmes in the most cost-effective manner”.The memorandum (The Tribune has accessed the letter) states that “at least 40 per cent of the budget allocation for 2026–27” of ministries, departments and organisations under Object Head-26 (Advertising and Publicity) would be placed “at the disposal of the CBC, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, immediately”.The Finance Ministry in its letter has identified 37 ministries and departments whose advertising and publicity allocations will be partly routed through the CBC.Out of the total allocation — Rs 2,658.58 crore — under the advertising and publicity head for FY 2026-27, as much as Rs 1,063.43 crore representing 40 per cent portion is to be placed at the disposal of the bureau.The Finance Ministry has asked financial advisers of the ministries and departments concerned to issue Letters of Authorisation (LoA) in favour of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, authorising it to operate the relevant budget heads and settle bills related to advertising and publicity campaigns.The memorandum further notes that funds allocated through the LoA mechanism “will not be available for expenditure/re-appropriation by the functional Ministry/Department concerned in the current FY 2026-27”. In simple terms, this means, the ministries will not be able to access 40 per cent funding set aside for the CBC.After the Finance Ministry’s orders, the CBC wrote to the government’s apex media outreach body, the Press Information Bureau, directing officials concerned to prepare and submit approved media plans for FY 2026-27 even for the balance 60 per cent publicity budget.The communication said the exercise was aimed at facilitating the achievement of “overall expenditure targets” under the advertising and publicity head during FY 2026-27 and directed that the approved media plans be submitted.Among union ministries with publicity budgets to be routed to CBC, the Ministry of Home Affairs has the largest advertising and publicity allocation at Rs 362.01 crore, with Rs 144.80 crore falling under the 40 per cent pool.The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy follows with a publicity allocation of Rs 316.5 crore, of which Rs 126.6 crore is to be placed at the disposal of the CBC. The Department of Health and Family Welfare has a budget of Rs 241.63 crore, including Rs 96.65 crore earmarked for transfer under the arrangement.At the other end of the spectrum, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has the smallest advertising and publicity allocation of Rs 10.01 crore, with Rs 4 crore proposed to be placed at the disposal of the CBC.