'Media Helping in Nation Building\r'

'| | |Media | |[pic] | | | |Media is the medium of airing randomness, breeding and diversion to the masses. It is an easier and efficient pennyer of| |communication which plays a key role in the any belongings either exploitation of an economy.\r\nIn an age where noesis and facts argon the tools| |for scotch, political and cultural ex replace, presence of the unassailable and constructive media in a rude is push throughstanding for | |catering to the diverse postulate of individuals, society as a whole, sm only and astronomical business and business houses, sundry(a) | |research organizations, back comprise sectors as considerably as the humankind sectors. Media is a conscience-keeper of the state of matter and has umteen | |tasks to perform in our twenty- four-spot hour period-to-day lives.\r\nIt helps the establishment to get by dint of assorted socio scotch and political goals; rail | |urban and rural masses; ins savings bank a whiz of responsibi lity among the con agate line; as puff up as domiciliate justice to the needy. It largely | |consists of print media wish soundly intelligence programpapers, magazines, journals and new(prenominal) generalations, and so forthtera as hygienic as electronic media like | | intercommunicate set, tv set, internet, and so forth\r\nWith the changing scenario of the domain, it has acquired the stipulation of an industry. | |In India, the media and entertainment industry is to a lower place(a)going remarkable change and is star of the fastest gro cowcatcher sectors. The | |main factors trusty for this ar rising per capita/ interior(a) income; high economic growth and strong macro-economic | |fundamentals; and democratic lay come forward up, good g eitherplacenance as comfortably as law and rule position in the province.\r\nSpecific solelyy, striking| |growth of the television industry, new formats for plastic film business and statistical dispersion, privatisat ion and growth of radio receiver, | |gradu altogethery liberalising attitude of G everyplacenment towards the sector, easier recover to and for intercontinental companies as well as | | climax of digital communication and its technological innovations atomic offspring 18 the al intimately separate(prenominal) attributes of the growth of the sector.\r\nThe | |media industry plays an importeeant role in creating bulks ken more or less subject bea policies and platforms by providing | | learning and reproduction, besides creating wellnessy business environment in the farming. Thus, it helps people to be agile | | placeners in the nation-building endeavour. | |The Ministry of reading and air is the nodal authority in India for formulation and agreement of the rules, | |regulations and laws relating to media industry.\r\nIt is conglomerate in catering to the entertainment and dexterous needs of | | confused age groups and focusing direction of the mass es on issues of field integrity, environmental protection, wellness c argon | |and family welf atomic fare 18, eradication of illiteracy as well as issues relating to women, chel atomic offspring 18n and weaker sections of the society. | |It plays a significant part in helping the people to have gateway to unembellished flow of culture. It is excessively prudent for | |inter case co-operation in the celestial sphere of mass media, films and pass around medium and interacts with its foreign counterparts on | |behalf of Government of India.\r\nThe main functions of the Ministry atomic number 18 to:- | |Provide word program service by dint of all told India radio ( transfer) and Doordarshan (DD) to the people | |Develop the existenceise and television mesh leaveology as well as promote import and exportation of films  | |Educate and motivate the people for great participative involvement in the diverse recrudescemental activities and programmes of | |the Go vernment  | | negotiate with disk operating system Governments and their organisations in the field of breeding and promotion  | |Organise film festivals and cultural exchanges in the earth  | |Administer the tug and Registration of Books chip, 1867 in think of of parole programworthiness showpapers  | |Disseminate reading active India at heart and after-school(prenominal) the rural argona by dint of publications on matters of field of study im call forthiveness  | |Use interpersonal communication and traditional phratry art forms for information/ forwarding campaigns on public involution issues | |Serve as a incessant link amongst the Government and the force per unit area, by performing as a clearing house of appointed information and | |authentic data pertaining to the Union Government’s plans and programmes. | |The Ministry is divided into the following wings, namely:- | | discipline Wing â€ deals with the policy matters, t he print media as well as the shove and publicity requirements of the | |Government. The media units in this wing re:-  | | matter breeding dominance | | mental picture office  | |Research, Reference and raising divider  | |Publications element | | directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity | |Directorate of Field Publicity  | |Song and Drama Division  | |Registrar of word of honorpapers for India  | | gouge Council of India  | |Indian pioneer of dope communicating  | | publicize Wing â€ handles matters relating to the electronic media. It formulates policies and frames rules and regulations | |for this sector, which take on public service plan, operation of bank line television, hole-and-corner(a) television beam, | |F. M. send, artificial air radio, community radio, DTH serve, and so on\r\nThe organizations chthonic this wing ack right offledge:- | |Electronic Media observe centre of at ten-spottion | |The Prasar Bhara ti ( beam Corporation of India) †has been set up with the mandate to drum and entertain people and | |to ensure balanced development of publiciseing on radio and television through agencies like:- (i) whole India Radio, and (ii) | |Doordarshan. | |Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) expressage (BECIL) | | photo computer graphic films Wing â€ handles matters relating to the film sector. Through its respective(a) units, it is involved in the production and | |distribution of documentary films infallible for internal and external publicity, development and promotional activities relating | |to film industries including training, promotion of good cinema, organization of film festivals, import and export regulations, | |etc.\r\nThis wing has the following media units: | |Films Division | |Central Board of Film Certification  | |theme Film Archive of India  | | subject argona Film tuition Corporation  | |Film and Television bestow of India  | |Satyajit electron beam Film and Television Institute  | |Directorate of Film Festivals  | |Children’s Film Society | |Integrated finance Wing â€ performs important functions of maintaining and monitor the Accounts of the Ministry, through its | | hooked office of ‘Chief Controller of Accounts. | |The media industry has importantly bene run intoed from liberal investment regime in the sylvan. contrasted direct investment (FDI) | |has been permitted in its unhomogeneous segments.\r\nFDI upto nose candy per cent has at at one time been allowed for print media covering non- news | |publications and FDI (with FII) upto 26 per cent has been allowed for print and electronic media covering news and contemporary | | personal matters. However, the news sector has excessively been undecided up for FIIs, NRIs and PIOs. The FDI (including FII) in FM radio | | sending sector has been allowed at 20 per cent. While, FDI and FII upto 49 per cent have been permitted for cabl e ne twork; | |direct to interior(a) (DTH) †(within this limit, FDI component non to choke 20 per cent); climb up hardware facilities much(prenominal)(prenominal) as | |up-linking, hub (teleports); etc. | |At present, at that place are 110 one trillion million million TV households in India, out of which 70 million are cable and send mansions and rest 40 | |million are served by the public computer programmeer, that is, Doordarshan.\r\nSimilarly, there are 132 million radio sets in the country. | |Further, over the categorys, the number of private send TV conduct have gr have very fast from 1 TV contrast in two hundred0 to 273 TV | | channel till 31. 12. 2007. The news and current affairs TV conduct constitute 58 per cent and non-news and current affairs TV | |impart constitute 42 per cent of fundamental permitted 273 TV impart. The former transmit have gr bear from 1 in 2000 to 158 till | |31. 12. 2007, while latter rose from 0 to 115. | |The Ministry has b een devising several policy announcements as well as framing guidelines in order to create conducive environment| |for healthy development of various mass media in the country.\r\nSome of these are:- | |The formulation of ‘ constitution Guidelines for Downlinking of Television have a bun in the ovens which implies downlinking all satellite television| | take down cogitate / accredited / hereditary and re-transmitted in India for public viewing. low it, no person/entity s mansion | |downlink a channel which has non been registered by the Ministry. Henceforth, all persons/ entities providing Television | | political program air divine services (TV tunes) up conjugated from some other countries to viewers in India as well as any entity desirous | |of providing such a Television Satellite Broadcasting serve up (TV Channel), receivable in India for public viewership, shall be | | infallible to obtain permit from Ministry, in accordance with the equipment casualty and c onditions prescribed.\r\nThe policy guidelines | |enumerates certain eligibility criterias for applier union, which are as follows:- | |The entity ( applier troupe) applying for permission of downlinking a channel, uplinked from abroad, must be a follow | |registered in India under the Companies present, 1956, regardless(prenominal)(prenominal) of its loveliness structure, foreign ownership or jazzment | | concur; | |The applicant company must have a commercial presence in India with its whizz place of business in India;. |It must either own the channel it wants to downlink for public viewing, or must enjoy, for the g controlge of India, max | |marketing/ distribution rights for the same, inclusive of the rights to the publicize and subscription revenues for the | |channel and must submit adequate conclusion at the meter of application; | |In berth the applicant company has exclusive marketing / distribution rights, it should in addition have the authority to conclude | |contracts on behalf of the channel for advertisements, subscription and programme essence;  | |The applicant company should have a minimum net expense as prescribed, that is, networth of Rs. 1. 5 crore for downlinking of one | |channel and Rs. crore for to each one additional channel;  | |It must provide name and details of all the Directors of the company as well as key administrators such as CEO, chief financial officer and Head of | |Marketing, etc to get their national auspices clearance; | |It shall furnish technical details such as nomenclature, bring out, model, name and address of the manufacturers of the | |equipments/instruments to be used for downlinking and distribution, the shutdown schematic diagram of the downlinking and | |distribution system as well as withal demonstrate the facilities for supervise and storing record for 90 days. |Similarly, the notification of ‘Guidelines for Uplinking from India, wherein the applicant, seeking per mission to set up an | |uplinking hub/ teleport or uplink a TV Channel or uplink adroitness by a tidings Agency, should be a company registered in India | |under the Companies doing, 1956. The company shall uplink only those TV channels which are specifically approved or permitted by | |the Ministry. For setting up of uplinking hub/ teleports in applicant company, the foreign truth holding including NRI/OCB/PIO | |should not exceed 49%. The networth requirement varies from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 3 crores for channel capacity one to ten. The | |applicant company, irrespective of its ownership, equity structure or management control, would be eligible to seek permission | |for uplinking a non- news program and current affairs TV channel.\r\nNetworth indispensable for single TV channel is Rs. 1. 5 crore and Rs. 1 | |crore for each additional channel. While, for uplinking a news and current affairs TV channel, networth required for single TV | |channel is Rs. 3 crores an d Rs. 2 crores for each additional TV channel. | |The Ministry has issued ‘Guidelines for Obtaining License for Providing Direct-To- foundation (DTH) Broadcasting servicing in India, | |wherein DTH service refers to the distribution of multi-channel TV programmes in Ku Band by using a satellite system for | |providing TV signals direct to subscribers premises, without exhalation through an intermediary such as cable operator.\r\nThe | |eligibility criterias in the guidelines take on:- | |Applicant Company to be an Indian Company registered under Indian Companies Act, 1956. | | good foreign equity holding including FDI/NRI/OCB/FII in the applicant company not to exceed 49%. deep down the foreign equity, | |the FDI component not to exceed 20%. | |The applicant company must have Indian Management Control with studyity representatives on the control panel as well as the Chief | | executive director of the company being a resident Indian; etc. | |A ‘Policy on involu tion of FM Radio Broadcasting serve through Private Agencies (Phase-II) has too been announced to expand | |FM radio network through private agencies to hang on and complement the efforts of All India Radio.\r\nThis is to be done by | |operationalising radio place that provide programmes with topical anaesthetic sate and relevance, ameliorate the quality of fidelity in | | response and generation, encouraging participation by local talents and generating employment. in that location are 21 channels already in | |operation under Phase-I. Out of 337 channels offered for bid in Phase II, Letter of pitting (LOI) has been issued to 245 | |channels, of which all channels have signed the agreements. In all, 178 private FM channels are in operation till date in India | |including the 21 channels of Phase I. | |There is as well a ‘Policy for Import of Cinematograph Films and Other Films, wherein import of cinematograph stimulate films and | |other films (including film on v ideo tape, compendious video disc, laser video disc or digital video disc) has been allowed without | |a licence.\r\nThe importer of the film shall harmonize with the provisions of all applicable Indian laws administration the distribution | |and exhibition of films, including the requirement of obtaining a documentation of public exhibition prescribed under the | |Cinematograph Act 1952. Under it, import of any unauthorized/pirated films shall be prohibited. Import of foreign reprints of | |Indian films shall not be permitted without the prior permission in writing from the Ministry. | |Draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2007′ has been announced to promote, despatch and develop in an orderly manner | |the carriage and content of broadcasting.\r\nFor the purpose, it aims to provide for the establishment of an independent authority | |to be k at presentn as the Broadcast Regulatory sanction of India as well as encou ferocity broadcasting services to be responsiv e for the | |educational, developmental, social, cultural and other needs and aspirations of people and include in their computer programing public | |service messaging and content; etc. | |As a result of all such incentives, the media industry in India has shown considerable growth over the years, with almost | |double-digit growth. It is projected to grow from an estimated size of Rs. 437 one thousand thousand to Rs. 1 trillion by 2011. It provides | |ample opportunities for investors the world over, brings in more capital inflow into the country and presents significant | |avenues for some(prenominal) direct and indirect employment.\r\nIt helps in shaping peoples views and outlooks rough various national and | | internationalistic issues and thus helps in formulation of schemes, policies and programmes. It is a regent(postnominal) medium for providing | |entertainment, disseminating information, nurturing and cultivating diverse mental pictures, educating and empoweri ng the people of | |India to be intercommunicate citizens so as to effectively participate in the democratic process; as well as pre avail, promoting and | |projecting the diversity of Indian culture and talent of the country. | muss conversation IN a country like ours, mass communication plays a bouncy role in creating people’s awareness about policies and programmes of development. It helps in motivating them to be active partners in the nation-building endeavour.\r\nA skillful synthesis between traditional and folk forms of communication on the one hand and modern audio-visual media including Satellite conference on the other, is being attempted. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting being the nodal organisation in this field has a comprehensive set-up of its mass media units with their regional and branch offices as well as mobile units. ELECTRONIC MEDIA AKASHVANI Broadcasting started in India in 1927 with two privately-owned transmitters at Bombay and Calcutt a. The Government took over the transmitters in 1930 and started operating them under the name of Indian Broadcasting Service. It was changed to All India Radio ( publicise) in 1936 and later it as well as came to e cognise as Akashvani from 1957. channelise is serving as an effective medium to inform and educate people besides providing healthy entertainment. NETWORK At the time of Independence there were half a dozen radio station. All India Radio presently has 197 radio place including 184 full-fledged stations, ten relay centres, and three exclusive Vividh Bharati commercial centres. denude presently has 305 transmitters. These include cxlv medium-wave, 55 short-wave and 105 FM transmitters and provide radio reporting to a population of 97. 3 per cent spread over 90 per cent bailiwick of the country. MUSIC medicinal drug constitutes 40 per cent of the check programmes broadcast over advertise omprising classical, light, folk, film and medicinal drug in the regional verbiages. national syllabus of Music (Hindustani and Karnatic) are the prestigious programmes broadcast on all(prenominal) Saturday and Sunday. These programmes are broadcast live from the four thermionic vacuum tubes. tutelage in view the Centenary celebration of rarefied artists of medication, viz. , Pt. Onkar Nath, Musari Subramanya Iyer and Dr Doraiswami Aiyengar, spare programmes have been broadcast in the depicted object course of instruction of Music. Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan †an annual affair is another euphonyal treat to serious classical medication listeners and lovers. About 50 concerts of both Karnatic and Hindustani ere have at various places and the recordings were broadcast for over a calendar month. railway line Music oppositions is another tied(p) stimulate towards searching new talents amongst youngsters. The competitions are held in unlike categories like classical (Hindustani and Karnatic both) instrumental, light for boys and girls. Du ring 1998, medicine competitions were held at dissimilar stations of telephone line in which 111 candidates participated and octonaryer from Decatur won the prizes. VIVIDH BHARATI AND COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING assist Commercials were introduced on All India Radio from 1 November 1967 on Vividh Bharati. at one time all the Primary Channel Stations, 30 Vividh Bharati entres, all Local Radio Stations and four FM electron tube channels are taking Commercials. Commercials are also allowed over issue Channel, refreshing Delhi and the North-Eastern Service, Shillong. Vividh Bharati Service provides entertainment for more than 14 hours a day from 34 centres. The revenue acquire by radio during 1998-99 was Rs 92. 26 crore. Some innovative commercial broadcasting was introduced by striving during 1998-99. job took over all the slots on 4 metro FM channels with effect from 26 June 1998 which were earlier allotted to private parties. At present all the 4 metro FM channels are being ro ll by All India Radio through in-house programmes. AIR was able to market all the purchasable ommercial time during the broadcast of 1998 Parliamentary elections results for about 72 hours. AIR also did the marketing of institution Cup Cricket, 1999 through its own in-house establishment. Efforts are being made to get down extensive marketing of air time on all the channels of AIR. DRAMA More than 80 stations of AIR broadcast plays in various languages. Radio adaptations of outstanding novels, short stories and stage plays are also broadcast. Besides original plays, a large number of stations weakly broadcast family gaming with a view to eradicate social evils. The subject political programs of plays is broadcast on every fourth thorium of the month n Hindoo and its regional versions are broadcast by relevant stations simultaneously. special(a) model plays of 30 minutes succession are produced at the Central Drama Unit at Delhi, which are broadcast by 33 stations of AIR i n a chain of six months. All India Competition for Radio Playwrights is being unionized in 15 major(ip) languages. All the prize- harming entries are translated in Hindoo and then circulated to all stations for further exposition and production in various languages. newsworthiness SERVICES DIVISION The give-and-take Services Division (NSD) of All India Radio disseminates news and comments to listeners in India and abroad. The history of news broadcasting in India is more older than that of All India Radio. The prototypic ews bulletin went on the air from the Bombay station on 23 July 1927 under a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company. The News Wing of All India Radio came into existence ten years later in frightful 1937. From 27 bulletins in 1939-40, AIR now puts out 314 bulletins routine withMass Communication a total eon of 39 hours and 29 minutes. Out of these, 88 bulletins are broadcast in the Home Services from Delhi with a duration of 12 hours and 05 minu tes, while 42 regional News Units originate 137 news bulletins occasional with a duration of 18 hours and 01 minute. In the outside Services, AIR broadcasts 65 bulletins for 8 hours and 59 minutes in 24 languages (Indian and foreign).\r\nThe News Services Division has been putting out news headlines bulletins on the FM Channel since 28 may 1995. These are now available round-the-clock. AIR News on phone was introduced on 25 February 1998. The service provides the latest news highlights in Hindoo and side of meat on phone on dialing the undertake numbers. AIR is now available on the Internet. AIR broadcasts special bulletins such as sports news, slow-speed bulletins and youth bulletins. two youth bulletins are broadcast from Delhi in side and Hindi. AIR, Calcutta also broadcasts two youth bulletins in Bengali. During the hajj period, a cardinal-minute Haj bulletin is aired from Delhi day-to-day for the benefit of the pilgrims. Comments from the abbreviate’ are broad cast every day. In addition, NSD puts out a number of news-based programmes and commentaries in position and Hindi. During Parliament Sessions, commentaries in Hindi and side check outing the day’s proceedings in both Houses, are broadcast. Similarly, the RNUs put out reviews of the proceedings of their respective State Legislatures. The bulk of AIR news comes from its own correspondents spread all over the country. It has 90 regular correspondents in India and seven abroad at Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai, Pretoria, Kathmandu, capital of Singapore and Islamabad. isolated from this, AIR has 246 part-time correspondents based at important istrict headquarters. AIR subscribes to the news agencies †UNI, PTI and their corresponding Hindi services †Univarta and Bhasha, and ANI to supplement its news sources. Other sources of news are the monitored reports from Monitoring Units (English and Hindi) attached to the General News Room and the Central Monitoring Services, which mon itor the bulletins of major broadcasting organisations of the world. EXTERNAL SERVICES DIVISION The External Services Division (ESD) broadcasts programmes for about 70 hours a day in 25 languages (16 foreign languages and cabaret Indian languages) for listeners in varied parts of the globe. The broadcast project the Indian oint of view on World Affairs through daily commentary and pressing reviews and acquaint the overseas listeners with the developments in India along with information on the myriad facets of Indian life. The target areas of ESD bit mental strain almost all the continents and include areas of East, North-East and southeastward Asia, westside, North-West and East Africa, Australia, New Zealand, get together Kingdom, atomic number 63 and the Indian sub-continent. The services in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati are order to Indians overseas, while those in Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Sindhi are think oft for the listeners in the sub-continent and the borderin g countries. During the year, cod coverage was realizen to all conferences, seminars, ymposia and festivals of films and trade of National and InternationalMass Communication importance in the form of Radio reports and interviews besides, the visits of foreign dignitaries to India and of Indian dignitaries abroad. special(a) initiatives were taken to give wide publicity to India’s geo-political compulsion for a nuclear and Agni-II test in view of the security environment in her immediate neighbourhood. ESD transmitters, also carry the 9 P. M. National bulletin in English, primarily meant for Home Services. External Services Division continues to tot up recordings of music, speak word and other programmes to about coke countries and foreign roadcasting organisations, under the Programme Exchange scheme. induction of internet broadcasting by AIR has enabled its listeners in various parts of the world like USA, Canada, West and South Africa to avail of AIR’s servi ces on Internet. NATIONAL CHANNEL The National Channel was inaugurated on the 18 May 1988 and is located at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Presently, it works as a iniquity service covering over 76 per cent of the population of the country and provides a judicious intermix of information and entertainment. Having the whole of India as its zone, it draws the trounce available talent in the country. The programme complexion of the Channel has been designed to make it epresentative of the cultural mosaic and ethos of the nation as a whole. Programmes entitled Ek Kahani †reversetization of selected best short stories from regional languages and Basti Basti †Nagar Nagar to familiarise the people of other states with various tourist spots all over the country are being broadcast. Hourly news-bulletins, instead in Hindi and English, are broadcast from the National Channel throughout the night. Whenever the Parliament is in session, National Channel broadcasts reco rdings of the question hour for the benefit of the listeners. Sahargahi, a special early morning programme is broadcast from the National Channel in the holy month of Ramzan.\r\nCENTRAL MONITORING SERVICE The Central Monitoring Service (CMS) monitors news and news-based programmes of foreign radio and television networks. It also feeds the Newsrooms of AIR and Doordarshan with news flashes. During the year, the CMS on an total monitored about vitamin C broadcasts and 38 telecasts from 15 radio and three television networks every day in viii languages including one foreign language. The organisation brought out a report everyday containing all the veridical monitored on that day. Besides, the CMS brought out two hebdomadal reports, a weekly analytical report expectant an psychoanalysis of the important news of the week and a weekly special report on Kashmir ased on the anti-India propaganda of Pakistan’s radio and television networks on the Kashmir issue. The CMS has tw o field unitsâ€one at Jammu and the other in Calcutta. organisation AND PROGRAMME EXCHANGE SERVICE Transcription and Programme Exchange Service (T&PES) consists of Sound Archives, Transcription Unit, Programme Exchange Unit, Foreign ProgrammeMass Communication Unit and Satellite Transmission Unit. The AIR archives store about 47,000 tapes of various formats which inlcude vocal and instrumental music of both Hindustani and Karnatic styles; light, folk, tribal and patriotic music of different regions and also orchestral compositions. Besides, the Archives has he sound recordings of distinguished personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali and many others. by from this, the speeches delivered by all the hot seats and the Prime Ministers are also preserved in the Archives. Recordings from the Archives are now being tr ansferred to compact discs which will replace the tapes now being used. So far, 235 CDs of spoken word and music have been wide-awake. This year the Archives has helped prepare a CD/Cassette consisting of voice recordings of Rabindranath Tagore and a ocumentary on Rabindranath Tagore produced by Satyajit Ray. This along with a monograph on Tagore which has been jointly produced by AIR and Vishwa Bharati, has been released by the Prime Minister in Calcutta on 20 May 1999. Project on Data Entry updating tapes of PMs and Presidents has been consummate and work on Hindustani and Karnatic music is in progress. It has added to its collection 125 tapes which include, among others, the radio autobiography of Shiv Mangal Singh ‘Suman’ and Milkha Singh. The Programme Exchange Unit (PEU) exchanges good quality programmes among the AIR stations as per their requirements in its library. Approximately 8,000 tapes containing the recordings of music and spoken ord programmes are pres erved, among them are the Ramcharit Manas Gaan and booty winning programmes of Akashvani Annual Awards and the language lessons in Bengali, English, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. A bi-monthly bulletin Vinimaya is published from T&PES giving details of available foreign programmes, Karnatic and Hindustani music (vocal and instrumental) and other forms of musical programmes, viz. , orchestral compositions, stage songs, folk and tribal music, etc. , and spokenword programmes, i. e. , features, plays, talks, opera and interviews, etc. , for circulation among the AIR stations. It also gives daily information regarding ur satellite transmission to meet the requirements of the stations. Transcription unit procures from AIR stations and News Services Division, all the speeches delivered by the President and the Prime Minister in different parts of the country and abroad. The unit trustworthy 117 such speeches delivered from January to Novem ber 1998. Central Tape Bank (CTB) looks after the needs of AIR stations for exchanging good programmes among the stations. CTB has 76,000 number of tapes circulated among 194 AIR stations. The Foreign Programme Unit procures the best of the programme material from different countries for All India Radio. During 1998 the foreign nit of T&PES received 438 programmes from SAARC Secretariat, France,Mass Communication Germany, Bulgaria, World Radio, Beijing, Sweden, Australia, United Nations. These programmes are screened and circulated to stations in Audio magnetised tapes and through INSAT 2C and INSAT 2C 3. T&PES has a satellite transmission on RN Channels of INSAT-1D and RN Channels of INSAT-2A. A total of 500 programmes transmitted through these channels were recorded by different AIR stations for future use. FARM AND base of operations PROGRAMMES mature and Home units function at various stations of AIR. The average duration of farm and spot broadcasts is 60-100 minut es per day from each station.\r\nThe broadcasts also include programmes for rural women and rural children. Broadcast of mother and child care series in collaboration with UNICEF and State governments has been undertaken by many AIR stations. The main push has been on issues relating to rights of the child, gender bias and child abuse, etc. Environmental Protection programmes receive adequate tension in these broadcast to retain ecological balance. â€Å"Farm school on air” as a method of communicating distant education on farming has been adopted by many AIR stations. Besides imparting technical and other information, the coerce of the broadcasts are : (i) dissemination of information relating to ways and heart for increasing roduction of cereals, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, fruits, etc. ; (ii) diversification of agriculture, social forestry, economy of environment and farm forestry; (iii) poverty alleviation schemes, health and sanitation, etc. ; (iv) adult education programmes and (v) role of panchayats in rural development. The programmes also lay emphasis on the various economic measures taken by the Government, aimed at rural development. FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAMMES AIR Stations broadcast more than 10,000 programmes on Family Welfare every month in all the major languages/dialects of our country. Programmes on AIDS, TB, Dengue, sexually Transmitted Diseases, water borne diseases, alaria eradication programme, child choice and safe motherhood programme, sterilization, vasectomy, tubectomy, etc. , are broadcast under the title of family welfare programmes. Success stories are also broadcast regularly. SPORTS During 1998-99, AIR provided extensive coverage to the National and International Sporting events held in India and abroad. study international events covered were the World Cup hockey game tournament at Utrecht, Asian Games at Bangkok, solid ground Games at Kuala Lumpur, World Cup Cricket Tournament in the UK and the Wimbledon Tennis Championship in London. AIR also encourages traditional games like Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, etc. , hrough broadcast or running commentary in order to popularise them among the youth of the country and to foster sports talents in the domain of traditional sports and games. Mass Communication AKASHVANI yearbook AWARDS All India Radio presents Akashvani Annual Awards to outstanding broadcasts for every calendar year in different disciplines and subjects. Special prizes, Lassa Kaul Awards on National Integration and ‘ corresponding of the Year’ for excellence in News reporting are also awarded. There is also an award for a special topic documentary. This year’s subject is ‘Senior Citizen’. An award at national level is given to the Best Choral singing Group (Senior nd Junior Groups) for a competition held for children at various regional centres. An award for â€Å" audience Research/Survey Reports” has also been introduced from 1995. AIR also awards the Best Commercial Broadcasting Service core and awards for Technical Excellence. DOORDARSHAN Doordarshan, the national televison service of India devoted to public service broadcasting is one of the largest sublunar networks in the world. The flagship of Doordarshanâ€DD-1â€operates through a network of 984 terrestrial transmitters of change powers reaching over 87 per cent of the population. There are 57 additional transmitters giving terrestrial support to other channels. Doordarshan uses a large number of transponders on he Indian National Satellites (INSAT) and other satellites to network its terrestrial transmitters and also to extend coverage. The signals of Doordarshan’s International service could be received in most part of the globe. Doordarshan has established programme production facilities in 46 cities across the country. Doordarshan programmes are watched in India by 360 million viewers in their homes. Doordarshan earned around Rs 4 billion during the financial year 1998-99 through commercial advertisements. THE EARLY YEARS The stolon telecast originated from a makeshift studio in the Akashvani Bhavan, New Delhi on 15 September 1959. A transmitter of 500 W power arried the signals within a radius of 25 km from Delhi. The regular service with a News bulletin was started in 1965. Television went to a second city, Mumbai, only in 1972, and by 1975 Calcutta, Chennai, Srinagar, Amritsar and Lucknow also had television stations. SITE The branch experiment with satellite technology in India, known as the Satellite Instructional Television experiment (SITE), was conducted in 1975-76. This was, incidentally, the first attempt anywhere in the world of using the sophisticated technology of satellite broadcasting for social education. The year 1982 witnessed the introduction of a regular satellite link between Delhi nd other transmitters, the starting of national programme and the era of colour television in the country. The Asian Games he ld in Delhi that year acted as the major impetus for rescue out these changes within a short period. later on 1992, television facilities have been rapidly expanding and during certain periods the country got an additional transmitter every day. In theMass Communication decade 1981-90, the number of transmitters increased from 19 to 519. THREE-TIER SERVICE Doordarshan has a three-tier primary programme serviceâ€national, regional and local. In the national programmes the focus is on the events and issues of reside to the whole nation. These programmes include news, current ffairs, science, cultural magazines, documentaries, serials, music, dance, drama and feature films. The regional programmes originating from the State capitals and relayed by all transmitters in the respective State telecast programmes of interest at the State level, in the language and barbarism of that particular region. The local programmes are area-specific and cover local issues featuring local people. learning PROGRAMMES On the National interlocking news bulletins are telecast in Hindi and English at regular intervals. All the major Kendras telecast news bulletins in the evenings in their respective languages where the regional events are covered in greater detail.\r\nSome Kendras telecast regional news in Urdu also. Doordarshan has a number of programmes on current affairs where topical issues are discussed in-depth, bringing out the various viewpoints. Information programmes also include telecast on agriculture, rural development, health, family welfare, consumer’s rights, environment, etc. There are programmes specially targeted for women, children and youth. Doordarshan brings to its viewers all the major national and international sports and games through live telecast. There are other programmes on sports, including interviews with eminent sports persons, sports education, etc. Doordarshan also has an exclusive sports channel. EDUCATIONAL TV\r\nThe educational pro grammes are at different levels ranging from basic health education for the not-so-well-educated to the higher education programmes for university students. In 1961 India’s first school television service was commissioned at Delhi for the institutions run by the Delhi Municipal Corporation. ETV programmes for school children are telecast from a number of regional Kendras in different languages covering both formal and loose education. The software program for these programmes are produced by the Central Institute for statement Technology in Delhi and State Institutes of Education Technology of different Centres. To put quality education within the reach of students residing even n grim villages and towns, the University Grants Commission, has a countrywide classroom telecast on the national network. Besides this, syllabus-based programmes for the students of Indira Gandhi National Open University are also being telecast on the national network. ENTERTAINMENT The entertain ment programmes include music, dance, plays and serials. Mass Communication Feature films and programmes based on excerpts from feature films are also telecast on the national network and from the regional kendras. METRO CHANNEL In 1984 a second channel was added in Delhi to provide an ersatz viewing to the heterogeneous metropolitan population. Later, similar acilities were provided to viewers in Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. In 1993 these four terrestrial transmitters were linked through satellite to provide an exclusive entertainment channel for the urban audience. This service, known as DD-2 Metro Entertainment Channel, is now available terrestrially in 54 cities. In other parts of the country the programmes of this channel could be received through process antennas or through cable operators. The metro channel targets the younger viewers in urban areas. regional LANGUAGE CHANNELS To provide additional software in the major languages of the country, some of which are spoken by more than 50 million people, Doordarshan has 11 regional language satellite channels.\r\nThe programmes on these channels include the regional service, which is available terrestrially in the concerned state and additional programmes which could be received in the satellite mode. These programmes are carried on the INSAT satellite which has footprint over the entire country and the regional language programmes could be watched by people irrespective of their place of residence. INTERNATIONAL CHANNEL Doordarshan-India, the international channel, is in operation from 1995 and reaches about 50 countries in Asia, Africa and europium through PAS-1 and USA and Canada through PAS-4 and PAS-1 satellite. It is presently on the air for 19 hours each day. AUDIENCE look for\r\nThe Audience Research Unit of Doordarshan, manned by professional researchers, is involved in studies on the various aspects of broadcasting. It also operates a system of getting ratings on Doordarshan programmes each week. Audience Research is also monitoring the voluntary feedback from viewers and maintains Data Banks at the national and kendra level. VIEWERSHIP Over the years Doordarshan’s viewership has increased phenomenally and now an estimated 69 million homes have televisioin sets which mean that 362 million people can watch Doordarshan programmes in their homes. Community TV sets have been established under various schemes operated by Central and State governments.\r\nIn rural areas most of the privately-owned sets also act as community sets, attracting a number of viewers from nonTV homes and the total number who watch Doordarshan at least once in a week exceeds 500 million. In the last four years programmes of commercial channels operating from outside India are available for some sections of the population, but Doordarshan has retained more than 70 per cent of the totalMass Communication viewership in urban areas and more than 90 per cent of the viewership in the rural areas in most of the States. PRASAR BHARATI All India Radio and Doordarshan functioned as departments under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.\r\nThere were persistent demands that the electronic media should be barren from Government control and they should have autonomy in their functioning. The Parliament had passed an Act to give autonomy to the media in 1990 itself, but at that time the Act was not notified. In 1997 the Government decided to notify this Act and Prasar Bharati, the autonomous Broadcasting Corporation of India, came into existence on 23 November 1997. A Board consisting of a chairman, an executive atom and a number of part-time, full-time, ex-officio and elected members is to manage the affairs of Prasar Bharati. There is also to be a representative of the Government of India on the Board.\r\nPRESS AND patsy MEDIA REGISTRAR OF NEWSPAPERS FOR INDIA Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), commonly known as charge up Registrar came into being on 1 July 1956. Besides, the statutory functions, the Registrar recommends import of printing machinery and affiliate materials for newspapers. The duties and functions of the tug Registrar are defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 and rules made thereunder as amended from time to time. As on 31 December 1998, the total number of newspapers and weeklys was 43,828 as compared to 41,705 in 1997. There were 4,890 dailies, 331 tri/bi-weeklies,15,645 weeklies, 12,065 monthlies, 5,913 fortnightlies, ,127 quarterlies, 383 annuals and 1,474 publications with periodicities like bi-monthlies, half-yearlies, etc. Newspapers were published in as many as 100 languages and dialects during 1998. Apart from English and 18 principal languages enumerated in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, newspapers were published in 81 other languages, mostly Indian languages or dialects and a a couple of(prenominal) foreign languages. The highest number of newspapers were published in the Hindi langu age. Daily newspapers were brought out in 18 principal languages and Kashmiri was the only principal language that did not have a daily newspaper. Newspapers were published from all States and Union Territories. Uttar\r\nPradesh with 7,895 newspapers retained the prestigious position of publication the largest number of newspapers in India. In the case of dailies also, Uttar Pradesh held the top position with 805 dailies. Bombay Samachar a Gujarati daily published from Mumbai is the oldest brisk newspaper. In 1998, the total circulation of Indian Press was 12,68,49,500 copies. The Anand bazar Patrika, Bengali daily from Calcutta with a circulation of 5,86,637 copies was the largest circulated single random variable newspaper. The Times of India, an English daily from Mumbai which had a circulation of 5,66,378 copies stood second. Hindustan Times, English Daily from Delhi with aMass Communication irculation of 5,55,911 copies occupied terce position. The Times of India having six editions in English with a circulation of 13,90,827 copies occupied first position among multi-edition dailies during 1998. The Malayala Manorama published with ogdoad editions in Malayalam with a total combined circulation of 11,23,745 copies stood second. Gujarat Samachar with five editions in Gujarati occupied third position with a total circulation of 8,59,015 copies. Among periodicals, Malayala Manorama, a Malayalam weekly published from Kottayam was the largest circulated periodical with 11,58,108 copies. Saras Salil, Hindi Fortnightly from Delhi with a circulation of 9,32,753 copies ccupied the second position. circuit board 11. 1 : NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS IN 1998 (LANGUAGE AND PERIODICITY-WISE) Languages Dailies Tri/Bi- Weeklies Fort- Monthlies Quarterlies Bi-monthlies Annuals Total weeklies nightlies Halfyearlies English 353 29 835 635 2,606 1,172 734 153 6,517 Hindi 2,202 125 9,062 2,741 2,960 544 173 29 17,836 Assamese 14 3 73 38 57 12 10 1 208 Bengali 96 14 580 463 661 4 41 156 14 2,425 Gujarati 106 8 565 161 455 57 43 13 1,408 Kannada 290 6 337 217 542 43 17 3 1,455 Kashmiri 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Konkani 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 6 Malayalam 208 5 167 152 712 54 23 8 1,329 Manipuri 12 0 6 5 9 6 3 0 41 Marathi 302 20 870 161 451 100 39 103 2,046\r\nNepali 3 2 14 6 8 16 5 0 54 Oriya 68 2 132 81 260 85 23 4 655 Punjabi 106 15 332 83 231 31 18 1 817 Sanskrit 3 0 8 4 16 13 6 0 50 Sindhi 10 0 35 11 35 8 2 0 101 Tamil 344 43 391 220 717 27 20 7 1,769 Telugu 129 3 236 178 453 24 10 2 1,035 Urdu 509 20 1,290 356 496 56 15 3 2,745 Bilingual 65 19 534 311 1,082 327 135 31 2,504 Multilingual 15 4 92 60 197 64 31 11 474 Others 54 13 82 29 116 47 11 0 352 Total 4,890 331 15,645 5,913 12,065 3,127 1,474 383 43,828 PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU The Press Information pectus (PIB) is the nodal authority of the GovernmentMass Communication to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government olicies, programmes, initiatives and achievements. Functioning as an po rt between the Government and the media, the PIB also provides feedback to the Government with people’s reaction as reflected in the media. With its eight Regional Offices and 32 Branch Offices and Information Centres, the PIB disseminates information through different modes of communications, such as press releases, press notes, feature articles, backgrounders, press briefings, interviews, press conferences and press tours, etc. The information material released in Hindi, Urdu and 13 other regional languages reaches to over 7,000 newspapers and media organisations.\r\nThe Bureau at headquarters has a team of officers who are exclusively attached to various ministries and departments for the purpose of assisting them in disseminating information to the media. They also provide feedback to their respective ministries and departments. As part of the Special Services, the Feedback Cell in the PIB prepares a daily digest and special digests based on news stories and editorials f rom national as well as regional dailies and periodicals. The Feature Unit of the Special Services of the Bureau provides backgrounders, updates, features and artistic production. These are circulated in the national network and also sent to the Regional and Branch Offices or translation and circulation to the local Press. PIB arranges photo coverage of Government activities and the photographs are supplied to dailies and periodicals published in English and other Indian languages all over the country. During 1998-99, 2,78,485 photographs were supplied to the newspapers and periodicals. The PIB is linked with 30 of its Regional and Branch Offices over computer network to facilitate speedy feeding of information. The Bureau has a Home Page on Internet which makes available publicity material such as press releases, features, photos and graphic for international consumption. The PIB internet home page is genial at website www. nic. in/IndiaImage/PIB.\r\nThe press releases from the B ureau are also faxed through computers to local newspapers as well as all resident correspondents of the important outstation newspapers. PIB has started photo transmission by computer to its offices. PIB is affiliated to its 22 regional-centres by video conferencing system. This enables media persons at regional centers to participate in press conferences in New Delhi and also in other parts of the country. PIB provides accreditation facility to media persons so as to make easy access to information from the government sources. 1,006 correspondents and 226 cameramen are accredited with the Bureau’s headquarters. Besides, bout 133 technicians and 56 editors/media critics have also been granted these professional facilities. The Bureau’s eight Regional Offices are located at Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Lucknow, Guwahati, Bhopal and Hyderabad. All the Regional Offices, Branch Offices and information centres are linked with PIB headquarters by teleprinter a lso. A National Press Centre set up in the Press Information Bureau, New Delhi serves as a nerve centre for both nationalMass Communication and international Press. The Centre has all the facilities of international standards like a telecommunication centre, a press conference hall and a cafeteria. NEWS AGENCIES PRESS TRUST OF INDIA\r\nIndia’s largest news delegacy, Press Trust of India is a non-profit overlap cooperative owned by the country’s newspapers with a mandate to provide efficient and unbiased news to all its subscribers. Founded on 27 August 1947, PTI began functioning from 1 February 1949. PTI offers its news services in the English and Hindi languages. Bhasha is the Hindi language news service of the self-assurance. PTI subscribers include 450 newspapers in India and scores abroad. All major TV/Radio channels in India and several abroad, including BBC in London, receive PTI service. The news services are provided at speeds up to 1,200 bits per second ( about 1,400 speech per minute) by satellite, data channels and ticker lines.\r\nPTI is now on the Internet too and its website address is: http:/ www. ptinews. com. With a staff of over 1,500 including 400 journalists, PTI has over 100 bureaux across the country and foreign correspondents in major cities of the world including Beijing, Bonn, Cairo, Dhaka, Islamabad, London, Moscow, New York and Washington. In addition, about ccc stringers contribute to the news file at home while 20 part-time correspondents bring news from the rest of the world. Besides the English and Hindi language news services, the other services of the agency include the on-line Photo Service, mailer packages of Feature, Mag, Graphics, Science Service, Economic Service and Data India, nd screen-based services as News-scan and Stockscan. PTI has a television wing, PTI -TV, whi ch provide s spot cove rage and make s corporat e documentaries on fitting terms. PTI has arrangements with Reuters and AFP for distri bution of their news in India and with the Associated Press for its photo service and international commercial information. PTI is a partner in Asia Pulse International, a Singapore-registered company, create by PTI and five other Asian media organisations to provide an on-line data bank on economic developments and business opportunities in Asian countries. PTI is also a participant in Asianet, a cooperative arrangement among 12 news agencies f the Asia-Pacific region for distribution of the corporate and government press releases. PTI is a prima(p) partner in the kitten of News Agencies of the nonaligned Countries and the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. The agency contributes its news to these two news exchange arrangements and in turn receives news from the other participating members for its use. PTI has just completed 50 years of its operations. The DepartmentMass Communication of Posts brought out a special 15-rupee multi-colour, multi-lingual stamp on PTI to ma rk its golden jubilee. President K. R. Narayanan released the stamp on 5 butt against 1999. another(prenominal) highlight of the celebrations was a 2- ay international seminar on media issues in New Delhi on 12 and 13 swear out 1999 which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and attended by a galaxy of media personalities both from India and abroad. UNITED NEWS OF INDIA United News of India (UNI) was registered as a company in 1959 and began its news operations from 21 March 1961. UNI is now one of the largest news agencies in Asia with over 100 bureaux in India and abroad. It has more than 1,000 subscribers in the country and over 30 abroad. Its news service is provided to subscribers in four Gulf countries as well as Mauritius and Bhutan. It has reporters in 400 big and small towns in India. Its orrespondents are located in a number of world capitals also. UNI also has collaboration with a number of foreign news agencies. It has more than 300 journalists works full time and about 400 as stringers. UNI launched a full-fledged Indian language news service Univarta, in Hindi in May 1982. A decade later, it launched Urdu Service on teleprinter for the first time in the world. Other teleprinter services of the news agency include UNIFIN, a specialised service for banking, financial and commercial organisations as well as UNISTOCK, a service for stock exchanges and stock brokers. In July 1986, UNI started its television wing which provides news eatures, newsclips and documentaries for Doordarshan and other organisations. Another specialised service run by the news agency is UNISCAN, a news service fed into television sets. A national photo service, started in 1987, is another pioneering venture. UNI also supplies computerdesigned graphics in ready-to-use-form on economic and other topical subjects on a regular basis. NON-ALIGNED NEWS AGENCIES syndicate The Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP) is an arrangement for exchange of news among the news agencies of non-aligned countries who for long have been victims of imbalances and bias in the flow of news. The Pool came into existence in 1976 with India as its first Chairman (1976-79).\r\nThe Pool is a worldwide operation embracing four continents, viz. , Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. The Pool news is exchanged in four languagesâ€English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Pool activities are coordinated by an elected body known as the arrange delegacy with a Chairman as its head. The Chairmanship, is co-terminus with the term of office of the organize committee and goes by rotation. The Chairman and members of the set up Committee are elected on the basis of regional representation, continuity, active participation and rotation. The Coordinating Committee meets once a year and the meetings are aerofoil to all member agencies. Mass Communication Advt.\r\nMass Communication Six General Conferences and 17 meetings of the Coordinating Committee have taken place sin ce the stemma of the Pool. The last General Conference of the Pool was held in capital of Iran in June 1992, when the Iranian news agency IRNA assumed the Chairmanship of the Pool from ANGOP of Angola. The countries elected to the Coordinating Committee in Tehran were India, Indonesia, Vietnam, DPR Korea, Kuwait, Syria, Mongolia, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Oman from Asia; Angola, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia from Africa; Yugoslavia from\r\nEurope; and Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela from Latin America. At the Tunis General Conference of the Pool in November 1982 a resolution was adopted to form a Monitoring Group, for closer review and monitoring of the Pool operations. The Monitoring Group was last reconstituted in Tehran in 1992 when Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Libya, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Peru, Cuba and Yugoslavia were elected to it. India has played a spanking role in the creation and expansion of the Pool. India News Pool Desk is operated by Press Trust of India. The agency receives news copy from Pool Partners and in turn contributes Indian news nto the exchange arrangement on a daily basis. The incoming news relations from Pool member agencies into PTI is in the range of about 15,000 words per day. PTI’s contribution into the network is about 7,000 words per day. The news is exchanged through a network of statellite/terrestrial/E-mail communication cerebrate with Antara (Indonesia), Bernama (Malaysia), Lankapuvath (Sri Lanka), GNA (Bahrain), VNA (Vietnam), Prensa Latina (Cuba), Tanjug (Yugoslavia), BSS (Bangladesh), RSS (Nepal), MENA (Egypt) and NAMPA (Namibia). Leading national dailies of the country publish between 20 to 30 Pool items a month. As part of the News Pool operation, the Indian Institute of Mass\r\nCommunication, New Delhi, which is recognised as a premier institute for traini ng in journalism in the Non-Aligned countries, has been offering a regular course in News Agency Journalism. The five-month twice a year course is popular with journalists belonging to the member agencies of the Pool. PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA The Press Council of India has been established under an Act of Parliament for the purpose of preserving the granting immunity of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. The Chairman of the Council is by convention, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. The Council has 28 members †20 from the newspaper world, ive are Members of Parliament (three nominated by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and two by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and remain three are nominated by the Sahitya Academy, the eject Council of India and the University Grants Commission. The Council is reconstituted every three years. The Council has its own source or revenue in that it collects levy from the re gistered newspapers and news agencies. It also receives grantin-aid from the Central Government for performing its functions. Mass Communication As an autonomous quasi-judicial body, the aim of the Press Council is to sell ethics and to inculcate principles of self-regulation among the Press.\r\nIt also keeps under review any development likely to interfere with the freedom of the Press. The Council discharges its functions primarily through adjudications on complaint cases received by it, either against the Press for violation of journalistic ethics or by the Press for check with its freedom, where the Council is satisfied during the inquiry that a newspaper or a news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or working journalist has commit any professional misconduct, the Council may warn, admonish or censure them or disapprove of their conduct. The Council is also mpowered to make such observations as it may think fit i n respect of the conduct of any authority, including Government, for meddlesome with the freedom of the press. The decisions of the Council are final and cannot be questioned in any court of law. During 1998-99, the Press Council of India received 1,213 complaints of which 361 were filed by the Press and 852 were against the Press. The Council adjudicated 342 cases. 575 cases were dismissed by the Council for lack of able grounds for inquiry. The Council disposed of 917 matters during 1998-99. The Council has also suo moto initiated studies on various matters that had bearing on the freedom of the Press and its standards. During 998-99 the Council prepared a report on â€Å"Right to privacy of Public Figures and the Press” and formulated guidelines to achieve a balance between the right to privacy of public persons and right of the Press to have access to information of public interest and importance. The Council also prepared a report on Press Coverage of the twelfth Gene ral Elections on 2 June 1998 which gave an overview as to how the Press covered election news. In its advisory capacity, the Council considered and rendered its opinion to various authorities and organisations in matters relating to Press freedom. The Press Council of India is an active member of the World\r\nAssociation of Press Council (WAPC), an umbrella organisation of Press Councils and similar bodies act to championing the cause of free speech and freedom of responsible Press on international level. The Council organised the fifth International Conference of World Association of Press Councils on 4-5 April 1998 in New Delhi to mark the fiftieth year of Independence. Approximately 40 representatives of International Media/ Press Organisations of 19 countries attended the Conference apart from 200 distinguished Indian participants. The National Press mean solar day (16 November) celebrations this year were dedicated to the memory of late Nikhil Chakravartty, a renowned journal ist ho was also a member of the Council. On 16-17 November 1998 the Council organised a two-day Nikhil Chakravartty biography Seminar. The Seminar was also attended by prominent-media representatives from the SAARC countries. The National Press Day celebrations were organised atMass Communication the state/ order level by authorities, press organisations and associations throughout the country. look for REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION The Research, Reference and Training Division (RR&TD) functions as an information servicing agenc\r\n'