- EC
To focus on low voter turnout areas
JAIPUR: Asserting that the EVMs are here to stay,
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Sunil Arora has ruled out the possibility
of going back to paper ballot in the country’s elections.
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| Dr K Ramnarayan, Chancellor, MUJ, and CEC Sunil Arora in a tete-e-tete at the Conclave |
Kick-starting the two-day 13th
Global Communication Conclave organized by Public Relations Council of India
(PRCI) at Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) on February 15, Arora referred to come complaints regarding
malfunctioning of EVMs and said there were very few. There was not a single
case of any criminal intent.
He likened the complaints against
EVMs to the grouse expressed in a section in the 1960s against the Bhakra Nangal
dam water that the flow was not good for agriculture as power was taken away
from it due to the hydro project.
Referring to a social
media campaign launched by PRCI - #StepOut2Vote – to create awareness about
voting, Arora said the EC would also focus on mobilizing voters in low-turnout
areas to go to the polling booths.
The election process has
been flawless right from the days of the first general election and it has
improved over the years, he pointed out.
The Conclave drew huge response
with close to 500 delegates from across the country participating.
Various speakers dealt
with the theme PR- What is the Big Idea and the unanimous conclusion was PR is a Big Idea!
Presiding over the
inaugural, MUJ Chairman and Chancellor Dr K Ramnarayan said he was happy to
such a major congregation at MUJ which always stood for sharing knowledge.
In his opening remarks,
PRCI Chief Mentor and Chairman Emeritus M B Jayaram said the Council has come a
long way from the day eminent journalist and fearless editor of Outlook
magazine late Vinod Mehta had inaugurated it on March 3, 2004 at Bangalore with
his truly inspiring thoughts on the importance of PR, particularly in difficult
times for corporate and even politicians.
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| Jayaram welcoming Dr Pragnya Ram, flanked by Himanshu Kapadia of Gracim |
Apart from conducting
global communication conclaves, felicitating achievers with the prestigious
Chanakya awards and recognizing talent through PRCI Excellence awards, PRCI
also hold knowledge forums and media seminars on issues of current interest, he
said.
“Our PR Hall Fame is the
only feature of its type in the profession where we induct senior professionals
with excellent track record,” Jayaram
added.
Making a presentation on a
host of novel projects launched by PRCI, its governing council chairman B N
Kumar said the organisation has gone well beyond the pink-shirt, party-happy
culture to emerge as a true communication exchange.
The unique social
communication idea has caught the imagination of the media and it resulted in
positive impact, be it the #SaveParsikHills or #IamMamngroveIamDying campaign
which have won international awards.
Explaining the theme,
Conclave Chairperson Vijay Lakshmi said: “An idea can not only can change but
make a big impact on the society as such. Moreover, Communication or PR is all
about ideas – ideas that work, impact our lives
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| Bangalore University VC Dr Venugopal, 13th Conclave Chairperson Vijay Lakshmi and PRCI National Executive president S Narendra concentrating on the proceedings |
Asking whether
communication professionals also need ideas to survive with globalization and
ever rising competition, she said hackneyed or template solutions may not
always work and one needs to think out of box and act on one’s toes.
Explaining the concept of PRCI
Young Communicators Club, its Chairperson Geetha Shankar said YCC has
established its presence in ten cities covering various mass communication
institutions and universities.
“Only serious studies
could be boring for the students. Hence, we consciously avoid much serious talk
and have interesting contests and anecdote-based sessions sharing our
experiences. Plus, the assignments and projects that we give keep them engaged.
Thus we supplement and compliment the academic training that the students get
in their classes,” she added.
Participating in a
fireside chat with Kumar, Dr Pragnya Ram, Executive President – Corporate Communication
and CSR, Aditya Birla Group, said ideas do matter in PR and one has to keep
coming out with them to appeal to media.
Dr Ram said communication
professionals ought to be assertive in telling their bosses as to what makes
news and what not and keep reasonable expectations.
She pointed out that the
mass communication institutions which are dime a dozen just churn out graduates
without any substance. Some of the young communicators and journalists write
appalling English and the reports get printed without any check.
Team Kerala led by T Vinay
Kumar explained the initiative taken by them in meeting the crisis arising out
of the Kerala flood fury. It was rather rare that PR professionals physically
joined the rescue and rehabilitation, said session anchor Sanjay Rammoorthy,
who is also the chairman of PRCI Mumbai chapter.
Talking about the growth
of regional media, Bhuwanesh Jain, Deputy Editor of Rajasthan Patrika said
Indian language newspapers have emerged as formidable platforms for
communication. “That is a big idea to deal with,” he said.
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| Harsha Kumar Singh - ideas do matter in TV journalism |
NDTV special correspondent
Harsha Kumari Singh said “in competitive TV journalism, we have to come out
with innovative ways of reporting to remain ahead.”
A panel discussion
anchored by PRCI Governing Council director R T Kumar, saw interesting exchange
of thoughts on “Is Social Media Humbug” by speakers Rashi Bammi, Founder and CEO, Renaissance PR, Anindita
Singh, Corpcom Head, L&T Metro, S P Paliwal, multi-faceted personality and
Dr Saadullah Khan, MUJ.
Bakul Gala, vice-president
of Corpcom at Wadia group, anchored a unique panel discussion on communication
for agriculture. Kamlesh Daga –Plasti
Surge Industries, Sunitha Subramaniyan – TAFE and S.Narendra – ex PIO, stressed
that communicators had a major role in improving the agriculture output as well
as improving the lot of farmers. Media also should not neglect the sector on
which over 60% of the nation depends and that contributes majorly to the GDP.
Dr Saadullah Khan of MUJ,
C J Singh of Core PR Chandigarh, Dharan of PRCI Chennai took part in a session
on communication education that was conducted by Geetha Shankar, YCC
Chairperson. Their conclusion was that PRCI could form the channel to make
education future relevant as well as industry focused.
Jitender Bhargava, Ex-Exec
Director, Air India, Suman Das Sharma, Senior Partner, Ketchum Sampark, Vaishali
Desai, Godrej Properties, Sandeep Agrawal, CEO, Think Energy, participated
in a panel discussion on Ideas and PR. Shweta Rajpal Kohli, ex-NDTV news anchor,
conducted the discussion and the panelists concluded that ideas do make PR
relevant to changing social needs.
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| Team Kerala in panel discussion on Communication in Crisis |
Veteran journalist H K
Dua, MP, said in his special address that communication plays a major role in
democracy, while Cyber Security expert Dr C B Sharma, IPS, said cyber criminals
cannot go scot free as they can be caught even after decades. The technology
that the cyber criminals use will help track them, he added.
