HYDERABAD: Almost all banks, financial institutions and other departments have spent more on advertisements in Hindi and English rather than on regional languages, according to a reply given to a question in Lok Sabha.

The data which was tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in response to a question in the Lok Sabha listed 37 financial institutions and government departments, out of which 32 institutions had spent more on Hindi and English advertisements between 2014 and 2017. In addition to advertisements, all institutions also spent a certain amount of money on “promotion” of Hindi. 

For instance, the country’s biggest bank with most customers, State Bank of India, spent Rs 427.87 crore on Hindi advertisements, Rs 194.92 crore on English and just Rs 131.37 crore on regional languages. SBI also spent another Rs 13.31 crore on ‘promotion’ of Hindi, the answer tabled by Jailtey said. 

Similarly, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has spent Rs 896.12 crore on Hindi advertisements, and -- less than half -- Rs 440.56 crore on regional language.  LIC spent Rs 4.68 crore on Hindi promotion separately. 

It is important to note that out of the 29 States in the country, only 11 States have Hindi as their official language. In West Bengal, Hindi enjoys the status of ‘additional official language’ along with Nepali, Kamatpuri, Kurukh and Urdu. 

There were only five institutions that spent higher in regional language advertisement and all of them were headquartered in non-Hindi speaking States. For instance, Andhra Bank, which is based in the city, spent double the amount (Rs 13.52 crore) on regional language advertisement than on Hindi ads (Rs 6.89 crore). 
Other institutions which spent more in regional language include Canara Bank, Indian Bank, National Insurance Company Ltd and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

SBI spent Rs 427 cr on Hindi advts
The country’s biggest bank with most customers, State Bank of India, spent Rs 427.87 crore on Hindi advertisements, Rs 194.92 crore on English and just Rs 131.37 crore on regional languages.