‘Government communication crucial for realisation of national goals under ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’

New Delhi : Asserting that the government communication is crucial for realisation of national goals under ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur on Saturday called for adopting the ‘5-C’ Mantra for Government Communication.

The five key features that need to define the government communication include Citizen-Centric and Compassionate, Co-creating with Target Audience, Collaboration, Contemplation, and Continuous Capacity Enhancement.

Elaborating on this, the minister said that all communication needs to be relevant and easy to understand, keeping the citizens in mind. Further, he underlined the importance of collaborating with all stakeholders, including the government bodies, institutions and the private sector.

He added that as communication is a fast-changing field with upcoming challenges like fake news, it is important for communicators to be agile and adaptable, as seen during the recent Covid pandemic.

Anurag Singh Thakur lauded the role of India Information Service (IIS) officers in undertaking transformational initiatives such as expansion of Fact Check Unit to counter fake news and accessibility initiatives for Divyangjan, among others.

He also put forth ideas and initiatives to further improve the efficacy of Government communication to benefit the last mile, highlighting the importance of new media technologies, institution building and coordinating with the state governments. He exhorted all officers to recognise the importance of their role as communicators to 130 crore people.

The minister inaugurated the Third Annual Conference of IIS officers at Vigyan Bhavan. The Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, Apurva Chandra and Principal Director General, Jaideep Bhatnagar, Satyendra Prakash, Venudhar Reddy and Mayank Kumar Aggarwal were present on this occasion.

The Union Minister underlined the importance of synchronised communication and art of storytelling to enhance the public outreach.Principal Director General Jaideep Bhatnagar in his remarks said that the prime focus of the Service is to work towards empowerment and accessibility, citizen centric 24×7 engagement, behavioural change communication and combating fake and mischievous news.

Recognising that the field of communication is inherently dynamic, the two-day Conference will deliberate on emerging challenges and a roadmap for cutting-edge communication in the future.