New Delhi: In a massive overhaul of its media wings, the government has integrated three media units under the ministry of information and broadcasting into a single structure, the Bureau of Outreach Communication.
Three erstwhile media units —Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP) and Song & Drama Division (S&DD), each of which were separately undertaking various communication activities for the ministry with many overlapping functions, have now been combined under the BOC.
The integration, the government said, has resulted in a consolidation of regional and field units with a DGlevel officer of Indian Information Service leading BOC in Delhi, and assisted by eight zonal DGs.
The government said setting up of the BOC replaces the Delhi-centric approach and turns the ministry’s attention to hitherto uncovered areas. The BOC, sources said, will also focus on building communication in regional languages and creating content to connect better with local populations.
The government also said it has created an online system of integrated media campaign that relies heavily on inputs by client ministries regarding their target audiences. “The online system will later graduate into an automated system of payment to news/TV agencies carrying advertisements, thereby reducing backlogs and ensuring timely payments,” a government statement said.
