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The
Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the Government
to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on
government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements.
Functioning as an interface 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.
The
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 from national as well as regional dailies and periodicals.
The Feature Unit of the Special Services of the Bureau provides
backgrounders, updates, features and graphics. These are circulated
in the national network and also sent to the Regional and Branch
Offices for 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 accessible
at website http://pib.nic.in .
The press releases from the Bureau 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 connected 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, about 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 also. A National
Press Centre set up in the Press Information Bureau, New Delhi
serves as a nerve centre for both national and international Press.
The Centre has all the facilities of international standards like
a telecommunication centre, a press conference hall and a cafeteria
