Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday exhorted officers of his Ministry and the Indian Information Service (IIS) to explore new frontiers of communication with the people and employ new technologies in that process.

Anurag Thakur was addressing a gathering as he inaugurated a day-long Chintan Shivir, a conclave on “Citizen Centric Communication as a Tool for Good Governance”’ here.

Cautioning his audience consisting of senior officials of the Ministry from across the country, Thakur said that the media landscape was fast changing, and so is the way people consume information. To that end, he added, there is a need to adapt methods of information dissemination to meet the needs of the 21st century.

The IIS is a vital part of the government, the minister said, adding that this Chintan Shivir has provided the officials with a unique opportunity to collaborate, self-introspect and timely course-correct the work in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

He asked the officers to work towards higher impact through better utilization of resources, coordination of efforts, sharing of information and working as a single team.

The minister urged his audience to fix a time frame for themselves and keep on checking & updating the Ministry’s priorities and deliverables as well as their own organisation’s priorities and deliverables.

Citing the leadership of “Karmayogi” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Minister asked the officers to introspect from time to time if they are able to deliver their best to the nation.

The minister said that as the government is oriented towards welfare of the underprivileged, so should the mantra of Antyodaya guide the activities of the officers. He said that a large part of India lives in a media shadow, bereft of facilities of television and newspapers. It is the responsibility of the officers of the Service to reach out to that section of society.

Earlier, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra delved into the basic theme of the Shivir being divided into five sessions and said that all the topics carried much relevance and the officers divided into groups will brainstorm during the day and present their ideas in the end.

The five topics of deliberation are Participatory Communication with Citizens – Jan Bhagidari; Adoption of Emerging Technologies in Public Communications to maximize reach; Institutionalization of Quick Response Mechanism to address Misinformation; Targeted Outreach through Regional Communication; and Strengthening Public Service Broadcasting.

The day long Chintan Shivir is being organized in the National Media Centre here to brainstorm on issues relevant to Government communication and prepare an Action plan and Roadmap for guiding the communication and outreach activities of the Government of India.