Press Information Bureau, Chandigarh organises “Vartalap” at Shimla “The media plays a vital role in disseminating information to the public. Events like ‘Vartalap’ provide an opportunity for the government and media to work together”- Chief guest, Sh Shivam Pratap Singh, ADC Press Information Bureau (PIB) Shimla organized “Vartalap” today at Bachat Bhawan, Shimla. The Vartalap is a part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s media outreach strategy aimed at bridging the gap between the government and the masses. The event brought together around 50 journalists from various media organizations, providing a platform for the government and media to discuss topics of mutual interest.
The Chief Guest of the event, Shivam Pratap Singh, ADC Shimla, emphasized on the need to create awareness among people regarding the welfare schemes of the government and role of media in information dissemination . He said, “The media plays a vital role in disseminating information to the public. Events like ‘Vartalap’ provide an opportunity for the government and media to work together and address the pressing issues at the grassroots level.” Shri Shivam also emphasized the benefits of any Government schemes should reach to the real beneficiary and for this the should be the maximum use of technologies to check and reduce the number of ghost beneficiaries.
Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Director at PIB Shimla expressed his delight at hosting the event. “Effective communication plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the government and the masses.
It is important to ensure that accurate and timely information reaches the people, and events like Vartalap provide a platform for media and government to work together towards this goal.” – Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Director at PIB Shimla Sangeeta Joshi, Deputy Director, Central Bureau of Communication Chandigarh, gave a presentation on the welfare schemes by the Government of India. When asked about the importance of such workshops, she said, “The ‘Vartalap’ workshop is an excellent initiative to bridge the gap between the government and media. It provides a platform for the media to understand the government’s efforts and initiatives and disseminate the correct information to the masses.” The event also featured esteemed speakers from various government departments of Himachal Pradesh Government.
Mohit Rattan, Assistant Commissioner & Block Developement Officer, Shimla; Sh Raghubir Singh, Joint Director, Department of Agriculture and Indira Pundir, Mass Education & Information Officer were the guest speakers. They spoke about government schemes in different sectors, emphasizing the importance of these topics for the betterment of society and ways to create awareness among the general public.
Ms Pundir highlighted the significance of various health schemes implemented by the government for the betterment of citizens. She stated, “The government has launched several health schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and many more, which are aimed at providing quality healthcare services to the people of the country.”
Address by Raghubir Singh focused on the benefits of millets. While Mohit Rattan spoke on the schemes of government of India and Himachal Pradesh focusing on women empowerment through skill development. He said that the government is striving for empowering women. Sukhchain Singh, Assistant Director, PIB Shimla thanked media for being a part of the Vartalap and interactive session. He said that media helps in real time information dissemination and helps the government in successful implementation of any scheme. An interactive session with the media was also held where information on various Government schemes was given by the expert speakers and the PIB officers. The journalists who attended the event provided valuable feedback on the topics discussed and how to make such Vartalaps more effective and useful.
The Vartalap, aimed to sensitize journalists about various Central Government schemes meant for the welfare of common citizens, empowering them with authentic information about government schemes and policies. The main objective of ‘Vartalap’ is capacity building of journalists working at block, sub-division and district levels. Also, to develop a more effective system of information flow from PIB to the aforesaid media constituency and take their valuable feedback on various matters. ‘Vartalap’ aims at building a direct communication between the Regional and Branch Offices of the PIB and the journalists working at district and sub-district levels so that PIB releases and other contents can be made available to them directly. Another aspect of ‘Vartalap’ is to familiarize the media persons functioning at the grass root level about the PIB and information dissemination apparatus of the Government of India.
