Amaravathi, Sep 24: The Andhra Pradesh government has approved a new Social Media Influencer Policy, triggering political debate in the state. The policy was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Speaking to the media after the Cabinet meeting, Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said the government studied influencer policies in five other states before deciding the payment structure for Andhra Pradesh. He said the government fixed the payments after examining the amounts being paid to influencers in those states.
Under the new policy, social media influencers will be paid based on their number of followers and views. The government has decided to pay eligible influencers up to Rs 15,000.
The payment structure is as follows:
More than 1 lakh followers: Up to Rs 15,000
50,000–99,999 followers: Rs 7,500
25,000–49,999 followers: Rs 5,000
10,000–24,999 followers: Rs 2,500
The government has also mentioned a requirement of more than one lakh views for Category-A influencers. The eligible influencers will receive the payments directly into their bank accounts.
According to Minister Parthasarathy, the policy is aimed at using social media to widely share information about government programmes, policies and public-related initiatives.
However, the policy has also drawn criticism from several sections. Critics argue that the government has repeatedly cited a financial crisis and lack of funds while implementing welfare schemes and has reduced or delayed benefits in some areas.
Against this backdrop, critics are questioning the decision to spend government funds on social media influencers to promote government programmes.
