Industries and Information & Public Relations Minister Mukesh Agnihotri exhorted the officers of Information and Public Relations Department to create awareness amongst the common masses about the policies and programmes initiated by the State Government for social and economic upliftment of the weaker sections of the society. He said it in the first meeting of the officers of Information and Public Relations Department.
Agnihotri said that the PR professionals should work with missionary zeal and dedicate themselves to raise upto the expectations of the Government. He said that for effectively discharging their duties the PR professionals should have proper and authentic information regarding polices programmes and major initiatives of the State Government. He said that the public relations personnel should maintain constant liaison with the masses, especially in the rural areas so that a proper and positive image of the Government could be created in the mind of people.
Information & Public Relations Minister advised the officers of the Department to provide proper feedback regarding the policies and programmes of the State Government. He said that this would not only help in establishing better understanding between the Government and the masses but also help the Government in taking corrective measures. He said that at times certain misunderstanding and misconceptions may crop up regarding certain policy and programme of the government, which if handled professionally could be averted. He said that the PR professional could play an effective role of changing public attitude and view point regarding various Government schemes and decisions.
Laying stress on proper space management in the print media, Agnihotri said that all the Officers of the Department should constantly monitor news and views appearing in the media and provide sufficient positive stories to the media meet its demand. He emphasized the need to formulate Media Plan for proper dissemination of policies and programmes of the State Government. He also laid stress on greater coordination between different sections of the Department for ensuring better publicity of the Government. He said that apart for adequate use of all possible modern media, the Department should ensure optimum use of traditional media. He said that Song and Drama unit of the Department should regularly perform in rural areas of the State to educate the people regarding schemes of the Government.
Agnihotri said that in the age of information technology the PR professionals also needed to update their professional skills by taking advantage of the modern tools of information so that they could also apply the same in their day to day functioning. He said that PR was a challenging profession but at the same time it was a rewarding profession as one gets opportunity to work in different situations and thus gets opportunity to make his own niche. He said that all the officers of the Department should contribute regularly in the publications brought out by the Department. He said that the officers should set self-targets for them so as to perform their duties in better manner.
Information & Public Relations Minister said that it was also important for the PR professional to educate the masses regarding various social evils such as female foeticide and drug abuse, so as to build a strong and vibrant society. He said that the Department should launch publicity campaigns in most educative way and inform the masses about welfare schemes and programmes initiated for their betterment. He also suggested the Department for making departmental publications Giriraj and Himprastha more informative and attractive.
Minister also appreciated department employees’ efforts in discharging their duties and assured all help for strengthening the department and equipping it with all modern facilities.
Rajender Singh, Director of Information and Public Relations welcomed the Industries and Information & Public Relations Minister and apprised him regarding various activities of the Department. He said that the Department was working with dedication and devotion to ensure that the policies and programmes initiated by the Government reach every nook and corner of the State. He also urged the Minister to use his good office to fill up vacant posts of the Department. He assured the Minister that the Department would make best efforts to come upto the expectations of the Government. Senior officers of the Department from field and the Directorate attended the meeting.
