The Andhra Pradesh government’s reported plan to pay social media influencers for promoting its schemes has drawn attention for both the earning opportunity it could offer creators and the questions it raises about public spending. Reports say the state Cabinet has approved a social media influencer policy, but the detailed operating guidelines and selection process have yet to be made clear publicly.
Under the payment structure reported so far, an influencer with more than one lakh followers could receive up to ₹15,000. The proposed amounts are ₹7,500 for accounts with 50,000 to 99,999 followers, ₹5,000 for 25,000 to 49,999 followers and ₹2,500 for 10,000 to 24,999 followers. These figures should be treated as reported rates until the government publishes the final terms, including what work each payment covers and how performance will be checked.
Paid creators could help government departments explain welfare schemes in formats people already watch and share. A local creator who speaks a community’s language may be able to make information about eligibility, applications and deadlines easier to understand. The policy could also provide income to smaller creators who have built engaged audiences.
Andhra Pradesh would not be the first Indian state to use influencers for government outreach. Rajasthan announced plans to place advertisements with social media influencers in 2023 and later introduced a policy for promoting welfare schemes. The question for AP is how its own system will select creators and measure the value of their work.
Follower numbers alone do not show whether an audience is real, local or interested in the subject of a post. If selection rests mainly on that figure, a creator with a large but poorly engaged audience could be paid more than someone whose smaller audience is more likely to use a scheme. Clear checks on audience quality, completed work and actual reach would help departments judge whether the spending is effective.
The policy could also create political friction. TDP, Jana Sena and BJP supporters have long promoted their parties online without payment. Some may question why outside creators receive government contracts while their own work goes unrecognised. That concern, raised in the original commentary, remains a possible reaction rather than an established dispute. Government communication and voluntary party activity also serve different purposes and should be accounted for separately.
For the public, transparency is the larger test. Published eligibility rules, a record of who is selected, clear payment terms and visible disclosure of sponsored posts would make the programme easier to assess. Until the final guidelines are available, the reported rates offer only part of the picture. The policy’s success will depend on whether it helps residents understand and access services, and whether the government can show how public money was spent.
