Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Singh Thakur today exhorted the Officers of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting including its media units and Indian Information Service (IIS) to explore new frontiers in communication with the people and employ new technologies in that process. The Minister was addressing a gathering of Officers of the IIS as he inaugurated a day-long ‘Chintan Shivir’, a conclave on ‘Citizen Centric Communication as a Tool for Good Governance' here today. Cautioning his audience consisting of senior Officers of IIS and Officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Thakur said that the media landscape was fast changing and so is the way people consume information. To that end, he added, there is a need to adapt our methods of information dissemination to meet the needs of the 21st century.

The Indian Information Service is a vital part of the Government, the Minister said, and added that this Chintan Shivir has provided the officials with a unique opportunity to collaborate, self-introspect and timely course correct the work in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. He encouraged the Officers to work towards a higher effectiveness through better utilization of resources, coordination of efforts, sharing of information and working as a single team.

The Minister urged his audience to fix a time frame for themselves and keep on checking & updating the Ministry's priorities and deliverables as well as their own organisation’s priorities and deliverables. Citing the leadership of Karmayogi Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Minister asked the Officers to introspect from time to time on if they are able to deliver their best to the nation.

The Minister spelled out a clear priority for the target of communication for the Ministry and said that as the Government is oriented towards welfare of the underprivileged, so should the mantra of Antyodaya guide the activities of the Officers. He pointed out that a large part of India lives in a media shadow, bereft of facilities of Television and newspapers. It is the responsibility of the Officers of the Service to reach out to that section of society.

Earlier ,   Shri Apurva Chandra , Secretary, Information and Broadcasting  delved into the basic themes of the Shivir being divided into five sessions and said that all the topics carry much relevance and the Officers divided into groups will brainstorm during the day and present their ideas in the end. The five topics of deliberation are

• Participatory Communication with Citizens - Jan Bhagidari 
• Adoption of Emerging Technologies in Public Communications to maximize reach
• Institutionalization of Quick Response Mechanism to address Misinformation
• Targeted Outreach through Regional Communication
• Strengthening Public Service Broadcasting

The day long Chintan Shivir is being organized in National Media Center in New Delhi to brainstorm on issues relevant to Government communication and prepare an Action plan and Roadmap for guiding the communication and outreach activities of the Government of India.

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Saurabh Singh