Media Education in India to be regulated

Government of India has been proposed to form Media Education Council to regulate media education in India. This has been proposed by a Sectoral Innovation Council to its report submitted to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting recently.

Suggesting Government that it should regulate media education to ensure orderly growth of the discipline as part of higher education, the Council in its report proposed that like medical education and technical education, Media Education be regulated by a new organization known as Media Education Council, to be a part of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The academic course for media education should be in line with UK/ US Universities and Vocational courses as part of requirement of the industry. The Media Education Council should be assigned the task of setting up curriculum for all levels so that standardized curriculum with national accreditation becomes a possibility.

The Sectoral Innovation Council of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is the first amongst the various Sectoral Innovation Councils set up in various sectors of the Government to submit its Report to the concerned Ministry.  The primary objective of the Council was to design a policy ecosystem in which new ideas would be integrated into the mainstream and get converted into policy initiatives by the Government.

The recommendations made by the Council in different sectors of the Media and Entertainment would act as a road map in the future.  The Council in its Report has analyzed the growth potential of the Media & Entertainment Industry by recommending changes in critical areas such as broadcasting, print media, animation, gaming and VFX, Media education and films.

In its report, the Council suggested that the Film Institutes in the country may be upgraded to Centre of Excellence. In the long term, these Centres of Excellence could become part of a Central University of Films, Broadcasting and Animation by an appropriate legislation. The Government must have a National Policy for Animation, Gaming and VFX, the Council suggested.

The Council has also asked the Government should reformat the course curriculum, improve faculty of the institutes. These institutions could either be separate universities or become a part of one central university.

Apart from Media Education, the Council has made 64 recommendations in seven areas concerning the media and entertainment sector.  The Council has also suggested Government to develop an alternative to TAM so that an appropriate mechanism is developed with industry to study viewing and listening behaviour.

In its report, the Council has suggested that the government should interact with key stakeholders and expedite a consensus on developing an alternative to TAM so that an appropriate mechanism is developed with industry participation to study audience viewing and listening behaviour and bring out reports on weekly basis.

The Council has also proposed that New Media should be utilized for media campaigns by the Government. If accepted, this recommendation may give a boost to use of social media across the spectrum.

Some of the key recommendations are:

·         A comprehensive policy media policy, that integrates all existing media segments and addresses the emergent issues. The council has recommended to bring out a National Media Policy that addresses the new media landscape.

·         The Government may look into the existing licensing procedures and requirements to ensure further liberalization and reforms in the broadcasting sector.

·         Content innovation is required in the radio segment which would be possible only if the Government comes up with a separate licensing model for niche channels.

·         Ministry of I&B, as the policy head of public service broadcasting and community radio service could come out with a formal arrangement by which CRS could provide community based programme content to AIR and AIR could provide capacity building and training to CRS workers in content creation, management and operation of stations.

·          The process of digitalization in DD and AIR was likely to release airwaves which after due utilization in house could be used for creating a public service broadcasting fund in line with USO fund of telecom sector. This fund could be utilized exclusively for public service broadcasting.

·          In view of the potential in the films sector, the Council has recommended a National Film Policy that will address the role of the Government vis-à-vis the private sector.

·          Film Institutes in the country may be upgraded to Centre of Excellence. In the long term, these Centres of Excellence could become part of a Central University of Films, Broadcasting and Animation by an appropriate legislation.

·          The Government must have a National Policy for Animation, Gaming and VFX.

·         The Government should go for co-production treaties in the animation sector to ensure flow of international projects to India. Ministry could also consider giving responsibility to the Children’s Film Society and Doordarshan to produce animated content and create Indian IP.

·          Reliable Single Source Data on all mediums of advertising should be made available by the Government so that advertisers are able to take decisions on reliable data.

·          Government should interact with key stakeholders and expedite a consensus on developing an alternative to TAM so that an appropriate mechanism is developed with industry participation to study audience viewing and listening behaviour and bring out reports on weekly basis.

·         Government should regulate media education to ensure orderly growth of the discipline as part of higher education.

·         Like medical education and technical education, Media Education be regulated by a new organisation known as Media Education Council, to be a part of I&B. The academic course for media education should be in line with UK/ US Universities and Vocational courses as part of requirement of the industry. The Media Education Council should be assigned the task of setting up curriculum for all levels so that standardized curriculum with national accreditation becomes a possibility.

·         There is need to make IIMC, FTII and SRFTI into real centres of excellence.

·         The Government should reformat the course curriculum, improve faculty of the institutes. These institutions could either be separate universities or become a part of one central university.

·          National Awards for Innovation in different segments of M&E Sector be instituted by the ministry.

·         New Media should be utilized for media campaigns by the Government.

·          E-mode transactions should be a priority for the functions of DAVP, RNI, CBFC and licensing activities of the Government for ensuring transparency.

The Sectoral Innovation Council was set up on July 28,2011 as part of the Government of India’s initiative of declaring 2010- 2020 as the Decade of Innovation. Accordingly, the Government set up a National Innovation Council with Sam Pitroda as Chairman and 16 distinguished members. The members of the I&B Sectoral Innovation Council comprised of Chairperson, Smt. Asha Swarup, retired Secretary, Government of India and 10 other distinguished members from the field of media and entertainment.

‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ campaign proves ‘The Customer is King’

Atithi Devo Bhavah [Atithi devo bhavaḥ] (English: 'The guest is God' or 'Guest become God') is a Sanskrit verse, taken from an ancient Hindu scripture which became part of the "code of conduct" for Hindu society. Atithi Devo Bhavah regards a procedure of the Host-Guest relationship. Recently it has also become the tag line of India's Ministry of Tourism's campaign to improve the treatment of tourists in India; the Indian version of Peter Drucker's customer satisfaction slogan, 'The customer is king'.

Atithi Devo Bhavah campaign by Amir Khan

India attracts millions of tourists each year, 3.3 million in 2003, but lags far behind other destinations. To attempt to improve the number of tourists travelling to India, the Tourism Department of India started the Atithi Devo Bhavah campaign with the theme The Incredible India.

'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a Social Awareness Campaign aimed at providing the inbound tourist a greater sense of being welcomed to the country. The campaign targets the general public, while focusing mainly on the stakeholders of the tourism industry. The campaign provides training and orientation to taxi drivers, guides, immigration officers, police and other personnel who interact directly with the tourist.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan was roped in as the brand ambassador of the 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' campaign for the Ministry of Tourism.

As the old saying goes, “Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.” That is the essence of Atithi Devo Bhavah. It’s all about developing a sense of responsibility towards tourists in India and preserving India’s rich culture and heritage.

And for that to happen, there was a need to change the attitude towards tourists. There were vivid instances where the touch of hospitality was seen lost. It was hospitality on which India was known for. - The campain - Atithi Devo Bhavah was aimed to bring that warmth back.

Atithi Devo Bhavah was a seven point program of hospitality and training. The insight of seven points are hereunder:

Samvedan Sheelta or Sensitisation: Educate various sections of the tourism industry on how each one of them contributes to the growth of the tourism industry.

Prashikshan or Training and Induction: Teach people how to approach and interact with a tourist, as this forms the ‘moment of truth’ in any service industry.

Prerna or Motivation: Motivate people to participate in this programme through various measures e.g. awards/recognition for the best worker in the segment.

Pramani Karan or Certification: Certification to ensure that standards shall be maintained at all times in the training programme.

Pratipushti or Feedback: Obtain feedback from the tourists about the service they have received and the experience they’ve had.

Samanya Bodh or General Awareness: The mass media communication campaign will be undertaken to create general awareness among the public about the necessity and the benefits of the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme.

Swamitwa or Ownership: Adopt the Atithi Devo Bhavah movement as your own, fellow Indians, for many livelihoods are dependent on tourism.

The social campaign by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Atithi Devo Bhavah has done a miracle for the ministry. The impact of this specific campaign can be measured based on two parameters - Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India and Foreign Exchange Earnings.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during the Month of September, 2011 was 4.01 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3.69 lakh during the month of September, 2010 and 3.31 lakh in August, 2009. There has been a growth of 8.7 per cent in September, 2011 over September, 2010 as compared to a growth of 11.6  per cent registered in September 2010 over September, 2009. The growth of 8.7 per cent in September 2011 is higher than 5.3 per cent in August, 2011. FTAs during the period January-September, 2011 were 42.20 lakh with a growth of 10.0 per cent, as compared to the FTAs of 38.35 lakh with a growth of 8.0  per cent during January-September 2010 over the corresponding period of 2009.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) during the month of September 2011 were Rs. 5748 crore as compared to Rs. 4678 crore in September 2010 and Rs 3798 crore in September 2009. The growth rate in FEE in Rs terms in September 2011 was 22.9 per cent as compared to 23.2 per cent in September 2010 over September 2009. FEE from tourism in rupee terms during January-September 2011 were Rs. 53761 crore with a growth of 16.6 per cent, as compared to the FEE of Rs. 46115 crore with a growth of 22.7 per cent during January- September 2010 over the corresponding period of 2009.

FEE in US$ terms during the month of September 2011 were US$ 1208 million as compared to FEE of US$ 1015 million during the month of September, 2010 and US$ 785 million in September 2009. The growth rate in FEE in US$ terms in September 2011 over September 2010 was 19 per cent as compared to the growth of 29.3 per cent in September 2010 over September 2009. FEE from tourism in terms of US$ during January-September 2011 were US$ 11886 million with a growth of 18.7 per cent, as compared to US$ 10012 million with a growth of 30.5 per cent during January-August 2010 over the corresponding Period of 2009.

A proud to be Indian said, this is really a good initiative taken by the Government of India to improve India's image. We Indians have very good ethics and moral values, but somewhere there is some glitch caused due to increasing westernization and broadcast explicit media on television. All we need is a refurbishment and revival of our moral ethics and this is being done very well through the campaign - Atithi Devo Bhavah.

After many instances of foreign women being raped in India were observed, foreign visitors got discouraged. To repair India’s tarnished image, Atithi Devo Bhavah campaign with brand ambassador film actor Aamir Khan was initiated to increase people’s awareness which is now paying dividend.

India is in the mission to study Black Carbon for Global Warming

There is an emergence of interest in the role of Black carbon in global warming since aerosols may modify the planetary albedo. The issue has engaged the attention of scientists and experts in addressing the scientific questions associated with sources, transport and impact of Black Carbon worldwide. The latest scientific studies indicate positive contributions to global warming. However the magnitude of the impact of aerosol on climate remains uncertain.

Aerosols are suspended particulates in the atmosphere. The composition of aerosols varies depending on the sources and temporal and spatial variations. Sulphate aerosols cool the atmosphere. Black carbon (BC) is the soot released in the atmosphere due to indoor combustion of bio-fuels such as wood, dung and crop residue in cook stoves and in outdoors, it is released from combustion of diesel, coal and open biomass burning (forest fires, cut and slash burning in forests, and crop residue burning on fields). The lifetime of black carbon in the atmosphere is small compared to the Greenhouse gases. Black carbon sources vary by regions. On a global basis, approximately 20 per cent of black carbon is emitted from burning bio-fuels, 40 per cent from fossil fuels and 40 per cent from burning biomass in the open.

The knowledge and understanding on aspects such as vertical distribution and mixing of Black Carbon with other aerosols, effects of cloud cover and monsoon still remains uncertain and incomplete. There is thus a need to have better understanding on the following science questions :

• The contribution of black carbon aerosols to regional warming.
• Role of black carbon on atmospheric stability and the consequent effect on cloud formation and monsoon.
• Role of black carbon in altering the ability of hygroscopic aerosols to act as cloud condensation nuclei.
• Role of BC-Induced low-level temperature inversions and their role in formation of fog especially over northern India.
• Role of black carbon on Himalayan glacier retreat.

With the launch of INCCA in October 2009, the Minister of Environment & Forests of the Government of India had announced a comprehensive study on Black carbon not only to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the role of Black carbon in the context of global warming but also to address the sources and impacts of the black carbon on melting of glaciers.

The Black Carbon Research Initiative builds on the existing work and sets out the science programme to respond to the scientific questions. The science plan has been developed through an intensive consultative process and with the involvement of experts in the subject and builds upon the work of ISRO, MoES and other experts countrywide. The initiative is visualised as an ambitious programme with the involvement of over 101 institutions with 65 observatories nationwide.

The study would lead to long-term monitoring of aerosols; monitoring of impact of BC on snow and; estimating magnitude of BC sources using inventory (bottom-up) and inverse modeling (top-down) approaches and modeling BC atmospheric transport and climate impact. The major expected outcomes are understanding the effect of change in albedo due to black carbon on seasonal snow and glacier melt; estimation of albedo and; reflectance of seasonal snow and glacier, glacier depth and mass balance, using airborne sensors like laser altimeter, ground penetrating radar and pyranometer; modeling effect of enhanced melting on glacier mass balance and retreat and; development of snow/glacier melt runoff models to understand the influence of changes in snow and glacier melt pattern.