New Delhi: In a bid to create awareness among people of the country about economic reforms, UPA-II has sanctioned advertisements worth Rs 100 crore for electronic and print media.

The Central government has been at the receiving end of political parties and ‘aam aadmi’ over hike in diesel price and FDI in multi brand retail.

The latest initiative is a desperate attempt to make people aware of why the Manmohan Singh-led government had to take such crucial and hard decisions on the economic front. Also it would help the UPA-II to take on the opposing political parties, who have recently been very critical of the policies.

Reports suggest that the government has created two sets of advertisements, which would target rural and urban areas both.

In cities, the advertisements would focus on the positive points of FDI in retail and inform people why government had to hike diesel prices. People living in rural areas and smaller cities will be apprised of developmental programmes initiated by the government.