The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is regarded as one of the key Ministries that is entrusted with the task of disseminating information about government policies, schemes and programmes through the different mediums of communication.

The Ministry took a series of initiatives in the year 2019 to inform the public in a seamless, transparent and accurate manner of all important activities undertaken by the Government.

Information Sector

· World Book Fair at New Delhi from 5th to 13th January, 2019. Discussion on ‘Children’s Literature and Young Readers Trapped in Electronic Gadgets’ organized by Publications Division at World Book Fair. Publications Division also released ten books during the event – Saral Panchatantra Part I; Children’s Vivekananda; Children’s Mahabharat in English; Shekhawati ki Lok Sanskriti; Hamare Samay me Upanishad; Haar Ki Khushi; Maa Ka Janamdin; Bapu ki Vani; Ved Gatha; and Bal Mahabharat in Hindi.

· India Pavilion at London Book Fair, 12^th to 14^th March. 2019.  The India Pavilion laid special focus on 150^th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and displayed the digital version of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, apart from various other titles on Culture, History and Folklore of India.

· Reference Annuals ‘Bharat 2019’ and ‘India 2019’ released- the flagship publications brought out by Publications Division.

· Photo Exhibition to commemorate Centenary of Jallianwala Bagh incident in Amritsar by Regional Outreach Bureau organized in April 2019, titled Photo Exhibition on Freedom Struggle.

· Several e-projects of Publications Division launched, including its redesigned dynamic website, mobile app “Digital DPD”, e-version of Rozgaar Samachar and e-book “Satyagrah Geeta”.

· E-version of Rozgar Samachar launched with a view to make aspirants aware of job opportunities in government sector including public sector enterprises.

· ‘Jaldoot’ a travelling exhibition on Jalshakti Abhiyan arranged by Regional Outreach Bureau, Pune. The exhibition consisted of various information display panels and Audio-Visual components to create awareness about bold initiatives and decisive actions taken by the government.

· Second Volume of ‘Loktantra Ke Swar’ and ‘The Republican Ethic’ released- Compilation of selected speeches of President of India, brought out by Directorate of Publications Division.

Broadcast Sector

· Travelogue program “Rag Rag Mein Ganga” and quiz show “Meri Ganga” on Doordarshan launched. The travelogue series “Rag Rag Mein Ganga” has been made by Doordarshan in collaboration with National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The show relays the message of the need of rejuvenating River Ganga while also informing about the efforts of the Government to clean Ganga – presented in a unique and interesting format. The quiz show ‘Meri Ganga’ has also been made by DD in collaboration with NMCG in an attempt to cover school children from all zones of the country and trigger curiosity in them to feel closer to the cause of cleaning Ganga.

· Private FM Radio broadcasters permitted to broadcast All India Radio (AIR) News bulletins, in English/Hindi as per list of bulletins given in News Schedule, subject to certain terms and conditions.

· Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched DD Arunprabha, a dedicated 24x7 Doordarshan satellite channel for Arunachal Pradesh on 9^th February, 2019.

· 11 more State DD Channels brought on the Satellite footprint of India through DD Free Dish. It is for the first time that the States of Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttarakhand have got their own DD Channel on a Satellite Network through DD Free Dish.

· Doordarshan’s Free Dish Set Top Boxes in Jammu and Kashmir distributed, besides launching half an hour Dogri programme and News Bulletin from DD Kashir and the signature tune of the channel, in an effort to reach out to the public in border areas to disseminate the message of Information, Education and Entertainment.

· Ministry aims to establish Community Radio Stations in every district of the Country, as announced at the 7th National Community Radio Sammelan in August 2019, as development of a vibrant culture of Community Radio will help in greater information dissemination at the grassroot level, which will result in further empowerment of people.

· Accessibility Standards for Persons with Disabilities in TV programmes implemented. In a significant beginning from this year’s Independence Day, Private Satellite News TV channels telecast programme on Independence Day Celebrations with sign language interpretation.

· Patriotic song “Watan” produced by Doordarshan to mark the occasion of Independence Day released. The song pays tribute to New India. It highlights several path breaking initiatives of the government including the determination and vision behind the successful launch of "Chandrayaan 2". The song also pays tribute to the bravery and valour of our armed forces and the martyrs of the country.

Films Sector

· Facilitate in organization of 2nd Jharkhand International Film Festival in Ranchi, Jharkhand from 1st to 3rd February, 2019. The objective of promoting the Festival is to encourage states that have showcased potential of promoting cinema.

· Indian Panorama Film Festival organized by Directorate of Film Festivals at New Delhi. Festivals like this helps viewer’s rise above the barrier of language and understand each other’s culture better while also facilitating people to people contact from different cities.

· India Pavilion at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival acted as a platform to popularize Indian Cinema in overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities.

· India Pavilion at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2019, wherein India was designated as the Guest of Honour for the Book Fair, which was held from 24^th – 30^th April, 2019.

· India Pavilion organized at Cannes Film Festival 2019, to showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India, script development, technology, promoting film sales and syndication. India Pavilion was also set at ‘Toronto International Film Festival’ (Sept. 2019).

· 50th International Film Festival of India organized in Goa. Russia was the focus country during the festival. The great doyen of Indian cinema Shri Amitabh Bachchan and the ‘Thalaiva’ of Indian film industry Shri Rajinikanth flagged off the extravaganza and announced the festival open. Shri Rajinikanth was conferred the 'Icon Of Golden Jubilee Award' for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, a first time award beginning with the 50th edition. One of French cinema's defining faces actress Ms. Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The festival opened with the Italian film ‘Despite the Fog’ directed by Goran Paskaljevic. ‘Particles’ directed by Blaise Harrison and produced by Estelle Fialon won the coveted Golden Peacock Award. Lijo Jose Pellissery conferred Best Director Award for ‘Jallikattu’; Seu Jorge was declared Best Actor (Male) Award and Usha Jadhav got Best Actor (Female) Award.

· 66^th National Film Awards. The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu conferred National Film Awards for the year 2018in various categories at its 66^th edition, held at New Delhi. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting (I&B), Shri Prakash Javadekar; Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Shri Ravi Mittal were amongst other dignitaries present on the occasion. Some of the prominent winners in various categories for this year National Film Awards includes Gujarati film Hellaroin Best Feature Film category. BadhaaiHo bagged the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Hindi movie Padmanwas awarded Best Film on Social Issues, Aditya Dhar won Best Director Award for Uri: The Surgical Strike, AyushmanKhurana and Vicky Kaushal jointly won Best Actor Award for their performances in Andhadhun and Uri: The Surgical Strike, whileKeerthy Suresh bagged Best Actress trophy for her performance in Telugu movie Mahanati. Marathi movie Naal got the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director while another Marathi movie Paani won the award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/ Preservation. NargisDutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was given to Kannada film OndallaEradallaand Uttarakhand was awarded the Most Film Friendly State.

In addition, it is pertinent to mention that the First Annual Conference of Media Units working under I&B Ministry was organized at New Delhi. During the Conference, performance of the Media Units was reviewed. The focus of the Conference was on ensuring synergy between the Media Units in their day to day functioning. Discussions on using modern technological tools for communication was also done during the course of Conference.

***

GK/LV