Minister for Information & Broadcasting Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the communication approach of I&B Ministry should strive for empowerment of people, by informing them regarding key initiatives of the Government in order to take the Prime Minister’s vision of “Reform, Perform and Transform” forward. The focus of the communication strategy should be to incorporate innovative and out of the box ideas in order to keep pace with the changing communication paradigm. Technology played a critical part in defining the communication approach especially with the enhanced role of different media platforms. Shri Naidu mentioned this while addressing the Indian Information Service officers from the recent batches here today. Shri Ajay Mittal, Secretary I&B was also present on the occasion.The Minister said that there is an urban-rural divide in the country and the communication managers should design appropriate strategies to address the vast cross section living in rural areas, marginalized communities and focus on the empowerment of the women.
Elaborating further, Shri Naidu it is important to engage with the people through innovative products, creative messages and a language which is easily comprehendible. The Minister cited the example of Prime Minister’s Mann ki Baat program as an innovative approach to reach out to the people. It is also a challenge for Government communication managers to re-look their approach towards critical issues and schemes such as GST, Jan Dhan Yojana, Neem coated urea etc.The Minister emphasized on the need for IIS officers to learn and adapt to the new technologies, tools, techniques to enhance reach of the government specially in the age of social media. The social media perspective has changed the way we communicate and govern today. This provided challenges and opportunities for the officers. In his interaction, the Minister emphasized on the need to be progressive in thought and take pride in the role and responsibility assigned to each officer. He specifically mentioned the initiative taken by the Ministry to institutionalize capacity building through appropriate training programs at different career levels.