Outreach efforts of Government
If you happen to work for someone who is under the scanner of public a lot, you would've realized how important it is to have a well-functioning Public Relations cell. Central Government of India comes first to my mind in this regard.
Ours is a welfare state, where apart from the necessary functions of maintaining law and order, the government takes care of the welfare of its citizens. Besides passive subsidies, there are more active plans in the sector of education, health, financial inclusion, food distribution etc. It is in view of spreading awareness about such schemes (I know, political gains too) that government has been allocating a good chunk to Advertisement and publicity. Have a look at recent data.
Print media and Audio-Video is practically how the entire amount is spent. But how effective it really is?
In 2012, Press had 312 million readers while TV had 569 million viewers(Source). The total number of targeted audience though can fairly be subsumed in the latter number. This is about half the population of India.
This implies that around 93% of the advertising budget of the government caters to around 50% of the population only. This is a serious mismatch in the allocation of resources, more so, when even the remaining part of the budget can arguably be subsumed in the already targetted category. The other half remains ignorant, and this is the group which needs to be made aware of the Government programs the most. This is the most vulnerable group which is left in dark and hence suffers in the hands of middle-men.
There is a need to create a Public Relations/ Outreach department of the government which would solely be focused on spreading awareness. Besides traditional and successful medium of press and TV, there is a need to reach out to a wider audience through innovative means. To emphasize on the dismal outreach efforts of the government, here's an extract from an op-ed.
An Outreach Department at District level which would work on getting out and interacting with people, making them aware of the Government programs through forums like Gram Sabha, JanSunwai etc would immensely help in publicizing the schemes to the beneficiaries, in absence of which they are prone to exploitation by agents. This department would inevitably consist of local people who can be hired through a competitive exam which in turn acts as an employment opportunity in the most backward regions of the country. Agreed there are gaps in the proposed model but they can be filled upon deliberations.
It's about time the government reaches out to the far-flung sections of society. That would be when true ideals of Democracy be cherished!
Ours is a welfare state, where apart from the necessary functions of maintaining law and order, the government takes care of the welfare of its citizens. Besides passive subsidies, there are more active plans in the sector of education, health, financial inclusion, food distribution etc. It is in view of spreading awareness about such schemes (I know, political gains too) that government has been allocating a good chunk to Advertisement and publicity. Have a look at recent data.
(src: https://factly.in/the-central-government-spent-more-than-6000-crore-on-publicity-in-the-last-11-years/)
Taking into account the size of the economy, this isn't an amount to cringe about. More often than not it is one of the most important parts of the scheme. The success of any government program depends upon the participation by beneficiaries. Most of us aren't politically active and don't really care about the ongoing developments at public front. This necessitates such expenditures. However, it's the way this amount is spent which triggers for a call of attention.
(src: https://factly.in/the-central-government-spent-more-than-6000-crore-on-publicity-in-the-last-11-years/)
Print media and Audio-Video is practically how the entire amount is spent. But how effective it really is?
In 2012, Press had 312 million readers while TV had 569 million viewers(Source). The total number of targeted audience though can fairly be subsumed in the latter number. This is about half the population of India.
This implies that around 93% of the advertising budget of the government caters to around 50% of the population only. This is a serious mismatch in the allocation of resources, more so, when even the remaining part of the budget can arguably be subsumed in the already targetted category. The other half remains ignorant, and this is the group which needs to be made aware of the Government programs the most. This is the most vulnerable group which is left in dark and hence suffers in the hands of middle-men.
There is a need to create a Public Relations/ Outreach department of the government which would solely be focused on spreading awareness. Besides traditional and successful medium of press and TV, there is a need to reach out to a wider audience through innovative means. To emphasize on the dismal outreach efforts of the government, here's an extract from an op-ed.
"For the moment, the assumption seems to be that top-down targets, slick advertising with Bollywood stars and helicoptering in teams of volunteers from the outside can substitute for building local institutional capacity and community engagement. But their reach is limited. A phone survey conducted by RICE economists in July 2016 found only 2.6% respondents in rural Uttar Pradesh and 5.4% in Delhi were aware that SBM promotes toilet use. One reason for this is the lack of on-ground engagement. A survey by Accountability Initiative in December 2015 found that less than 10% respondents had heard of an awareness program on sanitation being conducted in the village and only 3% had been visited by government or Panchayat officials to discuss sanitation."(src: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZNhkGdgK0fvbvRWV02XDWL/The-many-lessons-from-Swachh-Bharat.html)
An Outreach Department at District level which would work on getting out and interacting with people, making them aware of the Government programs through forums like Gram Sabha, JanSunwai etc would immensely help in publicizing the schemes to the beneficiaries, in absence of which they are prone to exploitation by agents. This department would inevitably consist of local people who can be hired through a competitive exam which in turn acts as an employment opportunity in the most backward regions of the country. Agreed there are gaps in the proposed model but they can be filled upon deliberations.
It's about time the government reaches out to the far-flung sections of society. That would be when true ideals of Democracy be cherished!
Comments
Post a Comment