India bans condom ads from prime-time TV

NEW DELHI — The steamy ads featuring a former porn star were apparently the last straw.

For months, conservative groups in India have been complaining about condom manufacturers’ risque ads. One of the most titillating features Ms Sunny Leone, a former actress in X-rated videos, undressing piece by piece.

So India’s government stepped in this week, declaring condom commercials “indecent” viewing for children and restricting them to the hours of 10pm to 6am, when relatively few people watch television.

But progressive social groups said this was a bad move. India, they argue, desperately needs more condom use, not less.

The country’s population currently stands around 1.3 billion, and within the next decade India is expected to pass China and become the world’s most populous nation.

The government has spent huge amounts of money trying to control the meteoric population growth, incentivising vasectomies and other forms of birth control.

But the rate of condom use is still low — less than 6 per cent among those who use contraceptives.

“We need to reach out to more people with more and more advertising, not less,” said Ms Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India, a private organisation.

“Condoms are one of the few methods of birth control which prevent HIV and unwanted pregnancies. And they have no side effects.”

Ms Muttreja said the prime-time ban for condom ads was in “direct contradiction to the population policy of the government.”

On Monday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued Advisory No. 40011/01/2014-BC-1, now known as the condom ban, saying condom commercials could be “indecent/inappropriate for viewing by children.”

Some critics of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused it of being motivated less by children’s welfare than by prudishness, pointing to past moves like blocking hundreds of pornographic websites and an effort to eliminate sex education from government schools.

But conservative groups cheered the decision.

“This is India and it has its own culture, and anything related to sex is generally not publicly discussed,” said Mr Bal Krishna Bhartia, president of the Confederation of All India Traders, a business association that started complaining about condom commercials a few months ago.

One of the commercials creating a buzz is for the Manforce condom brand. It features Ms Leone, an Indian-American actress who has recently branched into mainstream films and commercials.

The commercial seems to suggest a couple celebrating their wedding night. With sultry music playing in the background, Ms Leone undresses slowly from a huge bed lit with white lights. A man watches, swallows and then steps into action.

“It is a very romantic ad,” Ms Muttreja said. “What’s wrong with romance?” THE NEW YORK TIMES