[Indian Year Book 2022-23]* Indian Year Book Notes | Chapter 26. Mass Communication

 

Indian Year Book

(2022-23)

Chapter – 26. Mass Communication

 

Ø  THE Ministry of Information and Broadcasting plays an effective role in helping people have access to free fl ow of information through its various mass communication media like the radio, television, fi lms, press and print, advertising and traditional modes of communication like the dance and drama. The Ministry is involved in catering to the entertainment needs of various age groups and focusing attention of the people on issues of national integrity, environmental protection, healthcare and family welfare, eradication of illiteracy and issues relating to women, children, minorities and other disadvantaged sections of the society.

Ø   The Ministry is functionally divided into three sectors viz., Information, Broadcasting and Films. It is comprised of 18 media units/attached and subordinate offi ces including 3 autonomous bodies, 3 training institutes, and 2 Public Sector Undertakings.

Ø   The Information Sector is responsible for information dissemination and awareness creation of the policies and activities of the Government of India through print, electronic and digital media, framing of policy guidelines for rate fi xation of government advertisements on print, electronic, and online platforms, and administering the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, and the Press Council Act, 1978.

Ø   The Broadcasting Sector aids the Ministry in the far-reaching dissemination of Government schemes and initiatives via All India Radio and Doordarshan. This Sector oversees these public broadcasters by administering the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990. It also regulates private TV channels and the network of multi system operators and local cable operators through the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and policy guidelines issued from time to time. The private FM radio network is regulated by the Ministry through auctioning of FM channels, operationalisation of Community Radio Stations in rural and remote areas.

Ø   The Films Sector is responsible for production and distribution of documentaries, preservation of fi lms, organisation of international fi lm festivals and promotion of good cinema by institution of awards. It administers the Cinematograph Act, 1952, which looks into certifi cation of fi lms for public exhibition, and handles other matters relating to fi lm industry, including developmental and promotional activities. The matters related to fi nance, budget and accounts of the Ministry are handled by the Integrated Finance Wing.

 

New Initiatives

Ø  Digital channels of Prasar Bharati across DD and Akashvani registered more than 100 per cent growth, clocking over a billion digital views and over 6 billion digital watch minutes. The News—On-Air App added more than 2.5 million users with the platform registering over 300 million views with Live Radio streaming over 200 channels. A dedicated Prasar Bharati YouTube channel for Sanskrit content was launched in 2020-21, wherein all radio and TV content produced in Sanskrit across DD-AIR nationwide network are uploaded for easy access to viewers.

Ø  A dedicated ‘Mann Ki Baat’ YouTube channel and Twitter handle saw rapid growth in 2020, with the Twitter handle now having more than 67,000 followers. The YouTube channel has regional language versions of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episodes. Almost 1,500 radio plays in different Indian languages are being digitised and uploaded on Prasar Bharati’s YouTube channels.

 

IT linitiatives

Ø  Prasar Bharati adopted IT-enabled processes, systems and practices that include online talent acquisition, online content acquisition, online project monitoring, e-Offi ce etc. Since August 2019, Prasar Bharati has gone paperless by 100 per cent adoption of e-Offi ce. This has not only brought speed and transparency in the working of the organisation, but also saved expenditure on paper

 

Prominent initiatives include:

Ø  e-lnvoice Portal- It is an in-house portal (https://einvoice.prasarbharati.org) to generate IRN (Invoice Reference Number) through e-invoice portal of GOI (api from einvoicel.gst.gov.in). This app is being used in Prasar Bharati for B2B and B2C invoicing.

Ø   Talent Booking System (TBS) Portal - To maintain transparency and ease of booking, TBS was developed for Prasar Bharati units. This portal is being used to book guests, experts, artists, jockeys, etc.

Ø  Streaming Services- As a part of Alternate Platform Scheme 285+ radio stations are added on streaming platform using an Indian Content Delivery.

 

Network Provider

Ø  IARS Portal- This portal has been developed for inviting the applications for regularisation of irregular appointments/engagements in Prasar Bharati.

Ø  Twitter: On Twitter, PIB’s handle, @PIB_India and @PIBHindi have nearly 2.4 million+ followers and 296 thousand+ followers respectively.

Ø  Facebook: PIB’s Facebook page, @pibindia has 597K+ followers.

Ø  Instagram: PIB’s Instagram account, @pibindia has reached 905K+followers.

Ø  YouTube: PIB’s YouTube channel, PIBIndia has reached 1.49 million subscribers.

Ø  PIB India launched itself on Koo in February 2021. Fact Check Unit

Ø  The government set up the Fact Check Unit under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, staffed by two offi cers of Indian Information Service and soft launched it in 2019. The Unit, to combat misinformation, fake news and carry out fact check of stories on social media, maintains a bilingual presence on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It takes into account any complaint on email, WhatsApp, or through website complaint portal. The Unit also takes suo-motu cognisance of instances of fake news circulating on various social media platforms in the form of text, audio clip, video clip or an image. Similarly, a dedicated Covid-19 Fact Check Unit is also working to counter Covid-19 related fake news.

 

 Research Unit

Ø  Research Unit (RU), has started functioning in PIB since October 2021. It is the youngest and a one of its kind research division. The primary objective of the RU is to strengthen information dissemination by PIB and other official channels of Government of India, backed by authentic, data-driven and historical information and materials on all signifi cant socio economic parameters, national and sectoral level policy decisions. Tasked with streamlining the communication priorities of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Research Unit shall provide the senior level policymakers with national and international trend analysis, sector specifi c insights, communication research on signifi cant public policy issues, and study of activities undertaken by the various institutions, departments and ministries across urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

Ø  The unit shall conduct communication research and analysis on critical policies and regulations of Government of India across sectors such as economy, commerce and fi nance, international relations, environment, social development, etc. for effective outreach to public by providing evidence-based factsheets, backgrounders, FAQs and reports to generate sector-specifi c insights. The RU will be supported by other media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting such as the New Media Wing (NMW) and will be given access to archival and other relevant material/documents of P18, Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) to enrich the research with historical context. The Research Unit shall inform and educate civil society by developing a central digital data repository. that is a dashboard for real time access to inter-ministerial data such as upcoming policies, schemes, surveys, reports, etc. in a whole of government approach. The Research Unit shall ensure sustained communication on several government initiatives, fl agship programmes, policies and schemes from strategy to creation all the way through launch and beyond such that it

reaches the last mile and achieves programmatic objectives.

 

Twitter handle on Covid-19 management

Ø  NMW launched the dedicated Twitter handle #IndiaFightsCorona OCOvIDNewsByMIB in March 2020 to place all offi cial information related to the pandemic released by the government at one place. The response from Twitter users on this initiative was forthcoming. The Twitter handle is being updated throughout the day with all the relevant information sourced from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, press releases of Press Information Bureau, notifi cations and advisories issued by various ministries / departments as well as guidelines and good practices shared by international agencies. The information posted through this Twitter handle includes myths and realities related to Covid-19, daily statistics on recovered and active cases in the form of charts and maps, preventive measures and actions taken by various ministries/departments, and important information such as Helpline numbers. The @COVIDNewsByMIB handle has been instrumental in educating the social media users and in generating awareness amongst the general public through easily understandable infographics, videos, and accurate timely information.

Ø  Twitter handle @MIB_India of the Ministry generates 1.01M impressions per month and YouTube channel gets more than 219K views per month as on October 18, 2021. Content on Facebook page of the Ministry reaches more than 2,434 users per month as in October 2021. The Twitter handle @ COVIDNewsByMIB, dedicated for offi cial government updates on generates an average of 3.54 M impressions per month.

SAMVAD Integrated Dashboard — Social Media Feedback Tool

Ø  Systemic Assimilation of Media Views for Decision Making (SAMVAD) Integrated Dashboard was launched in March 2020. The views/opinions published across media are assimilated, analysed and the reports so generated, along with useful insights, are being uploaded on the Integrated Dashboard as well as sent through email/VVhatsApp alerts to the concerned PIB/MIB Offi cials. SAMVAD Integrated Dashboard includes coverage of all media i.e., print, television, online and social media. The dashboard is being utilised as a comprehensive 360-degree media feedback and analysis platform to facilitate decision making and to devise government communication strategies.

 

 

 

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