The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is entrusted with the responsibility to Inform, Educate and Entertain the masses, took various initiatives in the last one year to attain its objectives. The Information sector witnessed a plethora of initiatives in the form of International cooperation with Ethiopia, devising 360 degree multimedia campaigns, release of RNI annual report on Press in India, etc. Similarly, the Films sector witnessed successful completion of the 48th IFFI and the Broadcasting sector witnessed the launch of 24×7 DD Channel for Jharkhand.
The Initiatives of Ministry in different sectors are mentioned below:
Information Sector
● MoU signed between Publications Division and Sasta Sahitya Mandal for Joint Publication of books, to sensitise the young generation about India’s rich and diverse culture and history. It would promote availability of good literature for the people on diverse topics.
● Agreement on “Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media” was signed between India and Ethiopia. The Agreement will encourage cooperation between mass media tools such as radio, print media, TV, social media etc. to provide more opportunities to the people of both the nations and create public accountability.
● 360 degree Multimedia Campaigns such as International Yoga Day, Swachh Bharat , Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Rashtriya Ekta Diwas were launched by the Government. It entailed Multimedia Exhibitions, social media campaigns using Infographics, animations, graphic plates, short videos, live streaming of events /conferences etc.
● 6th National Photography Awards organized. Shri Raghu Rai conferred Lifetime Achievement Award. Professional Photographer of the year award to Shri K.K. Mustafah and Amateur Photographer of the year award to Shri Ravinder Kumar.
● Three Heritage Books on the occasion of Centenary Celebrations of Champaran Satyagrahareleased.
● Set of books titled ‘Swachh Jungle ki kahani – Dadi ki Zubani’ Books published in 15 Indian languages by Publications Division to enable development of cleanliness habit amongst children released.
● “Saath Hai Vishwaas Hai, Ho Raha Vikas Hai” Exhibition organized and was put up across state capitals for duration of 5-7 days showcasing the achievements of the Government in the last 3 years in various sectors.
● 100 Volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi released. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi’(CWMG) is a monumental document of Gandhiji’s thoughts which he spoke and wrote from 1884, when Mahatma was a 15 year old boy, till his assassination on January 30, 1948.
● Special Webpage on Goods and Services Tax (GST) http://pib.nic.in/gst was created on PIB Website and is a one stop platform for all information on the new tax regime.
● RNI Annual Report – Press in India, an Important Index of Print Media was released. The report gave a comprehensive analysis of the contours of the growth for the industry specially the growth amongst regional language publications.
● Analog signals in Phase III Urban Areas switched off. “Authorized officers” under Sec 11 of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act can seize the equipment of the MSOs/Cable Operators, if they continues to carry analog signal in Phase III urban areas after 31st January, 2017.
● Digital Radio Round Table Conference organized. Digital Radio technology would provide listeners with significantly improved audio quality and service reliability at an affordable price. All India Radio has already completed the technical installation and upgradation of 37 powerful transmitters in the first phase of Digitization of Radio Broadcast.
● 14 short films produced by Doordarshan on success stories of various Flagship schemes of the Government which had positively impacted people’s lives and had brought a transformational change in the country.
● A separate 24×7 DD Channel for Jharkhand announced. DD Bihar to telecast DD Ranchi programmes till the launch of 24×7 channel.
● 2 new Shortwave Solid State digital transmitters of 100 KW to broadcast across the borderfor Afghanistan- Pakistan region announced.
● New website of DD News launched.
● Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture 2017 was organised.
● Indian Panorama Film Festival organized in Delhi. The festival opened with the Documentary film “Ima Sabitri” directed by Bobo Khuraijam and Hindi feature film “Pinky Beauty Parlour” directed by Akshay Singh. It also screened five iconic films in which Shri Om Puri has acted to commemorate him.
● Film Condition Assessment Project under National Film Heritage Mission launched. This one-of-its-kind project in the world, for film preservation, will make rich filmic heritage available for the future generations to come. The condition of about 1,32,000 film reels at NFAI would be assessed and each film reel will be tracked and monitored through RFID tagging, during the first phase.
● North East Film Festival – Fragrances from the North East organized at National Film Archives of India, Pune. 10 film makers from the North East sponsored for the first time to attend the IFFI in Goa.
● Bhojpuri Film Festival organized in Delhi. The festival includes a National Award winning film “Kab Hoi Gavana Hamaar” and screening of two films selected in Indian Panorama section of IFFI – Nitin Chandra’s Deswa, and Mangesh Joshi’s film “He”.
● India & Ukraine to strengthen bilateral cooperation through the medium of Film Festivals and utilizing the Film Facilitation Office platform established by India.
● MoU signed between FTII and Canon to promote short courses in Film & Television. Canon to support skill-oriented courses as Technology Partner. These short courses will be held in collaboration with State Governments, Universities and Educational institutions.
● New category of visa for foreign filmmakers created to ease issues related to their entry into the country. Both the Film Visa and the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) have been aimed to promote India as an attractive filming destination to the world.
● 64th National Film Awards organized in Delhi. Kassav awarded Best Feature Film and Sathamanam Bhavathi awarded as Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment, Akshay Kumar given Best Actor award for the film Rustom, Ms. Surabhi awarded Best Actress for the Malayalam movie Minnaminungu-The Firefly Rajesh Mapuskar given Best Direction Award for Marathi movie Ventilator.
● Renowned Film Director & Actor Shri Kasinadhuni Viswanath to be conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2016
● The 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 2017 was organised in Goa. A Total of 196 Films from 82 Countries, over 64 India Premieres of International films, 3 world Premieres, over 28 Oscar submissions were screened, for the first-time ever Retrospective of James Bond film screened. A special section of Restored Classics, a special Focus on Canada curated by the Toronto International Film Festival showcased. A Retrospective of Lifetime Achievement Award given to Atom Egoyan, Indian Film Personality of the Year was awarded to Shri Amitabh Bachchan.
● Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Film (MIFF) 2018 got overwhelming response, 792 films in fray for Golden & Silver Conch Awards. It will be inaugurated on 28 January, 2018 at the National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai.
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