New BMC OOH Policy: Restrictive but necessary?

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Outdoor Advertising Policy 2025 marks one of the most substantial regulatory overhauls for Mumbai’s OOH landscape in recent years. With new size caps, engineering mandates, digital media restrictions, stricter permissions, and sharper enforcement mechanisms, the policy aims to streamline the city’s visual environment while tightening governance across both static and digital formats. As the industry studies the fine print, reactions have been mixed, acknowledging the intent to modernise, yet raising concerns over ambiguity, creative limitations, and long-term impact on investment. 

Junaid Shaikh, Managing Director, RoshanSpace Brandcom, believes the current draft places excessive pressure on stakeholders without strengthening the ecosystem. He observes that “the existing policies governing the DOOH space appear to be overly restrictive, hindering the growth of the sector”. 

For him, the bigger worry is how these restrictions might impact innovation: “Unrealistic expectations are being imposed on stakeholders, which may stifle innovations and creativity and create landmarks which can add to the cityscape.” 

Balancing his perspective, Payal Patel, Co-Founder, Devangi Outdoor, acknowledges that the intent of the new policy is largely progressive. She notes, “The 2025 framework represents a significant modernization and tightening of outdoor advertising governance in Mumbai.” 

According to her, it attempts to balance several priorities aesthetics, safety, and administrative discipline even if implementation may pose challenges. “The policy balances urban aesthetics, public safety, digital expansion, and administrative efficiency,” she says. 

Returning to Junaid’s observations, clarity or the lack of it remains one of the industry’s biggest operational pain points. As he puts it, “a lack of clarity surrounds the guidelines from brightness of screen to size restriction to height, with definite confusion among industry players.” 

He further points to restrictions that he believes may pull the industry backward rather than push it ahead: “The policies seem regressive, particularly in the case of static media, which may discourage investment in the sector and the industry at large.” 

Payal, on the other hand, focuses on how these policy changes will translate into real-world advertiser impact. She explains that the new norms mean “more flexible formats but stricter safety and compliance,” and that the ecosystem must prepare for “faster penalties, faster scrutiny, and higher financial commitments.” 

At the same time, she acknowledges that the digital space, despite stricter oversight, still presents opportunities, noting, “Digital expansion offers new opportunities but with tighter regulation.” 

For Junaid, Mumbai’s approach would benefit from looking outward at global standards. He highlights how “South Korea’s proactive approach has transformed its cityscape, boosted tourism, and stimulated economic growth.” 

He also underscores a major governance challenge that continues to frustrate the industry: “Much ambiguity still persists w.r.t Railways vs BMC and the rest.” This lack of alignment across authorities, he notes, makes long-term planning difficult for media owners and advertisers alike. 

Ultimately, as the city stands on the cusp of a major transformation, the outdoor media sector recognizes that its path forward requires a renewed focus on refinement, clarity, and collaboration. With these necessary steps, the industry can successfully navigate the policy changes ahead. Media4Growth will continue to provide more insights on the unfolding policy landscape.