Yesterday, while reviewing the new version the Indiatimes.com*, we chanced upon something we haven't noticed before: an online advertisement for an Indian government department. Indiatimes featured a 300x250 pixel advertisement for the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. The Indian government is among the largest advertisers in India, and it advertises through its official advertising agency, the Directorate of Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP); so far, while political parties have advertised online, this is the first instance that we've seen of a DAVP advertising online. A document we found on the DAVP's website states calls for applications for empanelment for a pilot of three months (from November 21st 2010 to 20th Feb 2011), following which 20 companies will be empaneled for advertising in the first year. This is a fairly significant development for online publishers in India, because it indicates that…
