New Delhi, Dec. 7 -- Advertising spends are a good indicator of a country's attention economy. The spread of ad budgets across media platforms and content genres is a reflection of how a country's consumers aka citizens entertain, inform and educate themselves. Active or passive, these consumption habits lead to decisions that shape the political and social environment of the country.

It may, thus, be argued that ad spends play an important role in a functioning democracy. It is for this reason that the government's decision to raise advertising rates for print media by 26% is inadequate, both in its prognosis and the remedy offered. The government said it was offering essential revenue support to the print media to help sustain operatio...