SIKKIM - STATE ANNUAL PLAN 2001-2002INFORMATION & PUBLIC RELATIONSDEMAND NO. 18The Information & Public Relations Department functions as a bridge between the Government and General Public in disseminating information relating to all round development of the State. Ion this age of information, the responsibility of collecting information and informing the masses in black and while along with audiovisual media becomes more important at a time when the media of the State still is in infancy stage. The State Government has introduced many welfare and populist schemes with the sole objective of betterment of rural masses with 70% of the total budget allocation to the section. In order to generate employment to educate unemployed youth of the State the Department has been successfully organising training in Photography and operation of Public Address System and Film Projectors. The Department is not only modernising the existing electronic equipments of the Media Section but is also setting up Mixing, Editing and Dubbing Unit with a view to produce documentary films. IPR also maintain continuous liaison with various developmental Departments including print and electronic media and continue to be a mouth piece of the State Government through its various publications and other publicity exhibitions. The Department also has a plan to sponsor noted writers to write books on Sikkim in different subjects. The Following are the major sectors of schemes of IPR Department as per the Plan Outlay for 2001-2002.
One of the major sectors of IPR Department is the Films which deals with viedeo and Photo Coverage of various official functions of the Government in the State. The expenditure under this head is incurred towards the annual procurement of Video and Photography items viz. Blank Video Cassettes, Video Camera Batteries, Betacamp cassettes and such other items connected with Video and Photography. The Section proposes to produce documentaries of developmental activities in the State including its customs, flora and fauna by its own team of Cameramen, Script Writer and Reporters. For this the Department has already procured dubbing, editing and mixing equipments during the last financial year.
The Administrative overhead expenditure of Head Office of IPR Department are met up from this budget. The expenditures include payment of monthly house rent of Office Building, purchase of office stationery of all the sections of the Department, maintenance and purchase of Computers and Xerox Machines including Stationery, purchase of Office furniture, furnishing and fixtures of office rooms. The expenditure towards the repair and maintenance of Departmental Vehicles belonging to Head Office is met up from this head Besides, the departmental vehicle Sk-02/0661, which was bought in July 1990, has already outlived its utility and needs replacement and the vehicle is constantly required for visiting journalists, T.V. crews and also to act as stand by for our media team it near vehicle is either engaged or off road for repair.
The budget uner this head is usually kept for meeting up the training expenses of inservice candidate who under goreferesger courses. However, the Department proposes to depute educated unemployed youth of the State for undergoing courses on Journalism in the National Institute of Repute on the basis of their merit in the interview. We also impart training to educated unemployed youth of the State in videography, photography and in operation of P.A. System and Film Projectors. The number of such trainees are steadily increasing.
The expenditure under this head is incurred for the payment of rentals for subscription to National News Agencies UNI and PTI, holding of phot exhibitions, Seminars and Workshop for National and Local Journalists, Extension of hospitalities to the National Journalists and Doordarshan Teams. Besides this, the payment of Display Advertisement bill released by the IPR Department to the local journalists is made from this budget head. The advertisement charges of National Magazine/Papers released on the orders of the higher authorities are also met up from this head. Further, the printing cost of annual calendars of IPR Department is also met up from this budget head. In view of the increase in the rates of al the items indicated above we have slightly raised the outlay under this head. Project on T.V. coverage and training is also earmarked Rs 100.00 lakhs.
District Information Centres located at four Districts of the State are being strengthened by providing the latest models of Public Address System. Cameras as the present paraphernalias are old and outdated. The budget under this head is to meet up the overhead administrative expenditure of the DICs which include maintenance and repairs of the Departmental vehicles attached to the DIOs purchase of office stationery, payment of house rent hired for reading and guest rooms in three Districts – Mangan, Namchi and Gyalshing and other expenditures of recurring nature. The outlay for the year under review has been increased as the house rent of the buildings hired by the IPR for DIC at Mangan, Namchi and Gyalshing has been considerably increased after PWD assessment. The vehicle being used in DIC, Namchi bought in March 1990, has already outlived its utility and is beyond repair. Since the necessity of a vehicle in district need not be emphasised we have kept Rs 5.00 lakhs for replacement of the present vehicle with a new one.
Under this budget head the department has to meet the expenditure of recurring nature items viz. Film rolls (Colour and B/W), Blank Audio Cassettes, Chemicals for use in the Dark Room for development of old, black and white photographs etc. are met from this head. The expenditures on cost of printing and developing of photographs taken on the official functions of the Government are also borne from this head including maintenance of cameras. Since the still cameras being used by our lensmen are old and defective the department propose to buy four new still cameras and lenses. The increase in the outlay is to meet the expenditures on these purchases and meet the escalation in the rates of photo items.
Sikkim Herald, the Government mouth piece, is presently being brought out in English, Nepali, Limboo, Leplcha, Tibetan and Bhutia. The Department is planning to bring out Sikkim Herald in more languages recognised by the State Government for which we are in touch with intelligentsia of these languages. The English Sikkim Herald has already been computerised. The necessary facilities has also been provided, the department is now planning to computerise at least 3 more language versions of Sikkim Herald for which requisit fund has been kept in the Ninth Plan including salaries of DDP Operators which have to be created. In order to encourage publication of books on Sikkim the Department is also planning to sponsor noted writers to write books on culture history, politics, environment and geography, sociology and society, economics and various other subjects on Sikkim under Sikkim Study Series for which Rs 26.00 lakhs have been kept aside for this financial year. The increase in the outlay can be attributed to the publication of a multi-coloured quarterly magazine and other adhoc publications besides the Annual Compendium. ABSTRACT
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