Making the information machinery functional

Gauri Chhabra

In an age where there is an explosion of information, multiple versions of facts and conflation of views and facts, the need for correct facts becomes paramount. This is exactly what the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting does, i.e. bring correct information. Building a robust network of information systems to inform the masses about various government schemes, new plans and initiatives etc is essential. In this regard, the Indian Information Service (IIS) officers ensure the right channelisation, dispersion, and dissemination of information in leading media frontiers to make information readily available to the Indian population.

About Indian Information Service (IIS)

The Indian Information Service (IIS) is the administrative civil service under Group A and Group B of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India.

Indian Information Service officers are the media managers of the Government of India. They act as a vital communication link between the government and the people by way of disseminating information and communicating various government policies and schemes to the public at large; and also collecting and providing valuable feedback to the government for policy formulation.

Most IIS officers work in various media units, which are under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting such as DD News, All India Radio, Press Information Bureau, DAVP etc. During their tenure in the Press Information Bureau, they are posted with various ministries as spokespersons to handle the Ministry’s information and communication needs and help in policy formulation.

IIS officers are also posted as spokespersons to various constitutional bodies such as Election Commission of India and statutory bodies such as Central Bureau of Investigation. Besides postings all over India, an IIS officer also gets posted to a few foreign assignments under Prasar Bharati.

Genesis

Indian Information Service (IIS) was established as an organised central service named Central Information Service (CIS) on March 1, 1960. Prior to 1960, these posts were manned by officers recruited separately by each media unit. In 1987, CIS was bifurcated into IIS Group ‘A’ and IIS Group ‘B’.

Recruitment

IIS Group-A officers are selected through two modes,

Direct recruitment through the prestigious Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to the various Civil Services and also through promotion to IIS Group-A from the Senior Grade officers of IIS Group-B.

Qualification

It is an administered civil service cadre. This service comes under the Ministry of Information and broadcasting. Officers for IIS are selected through the Civil services exams conducted by UPSC.

Candidates must have a degree from a recognised university or institute, diploma/PG Diploma in Journalism/ Mass Communication from a recognised university/institution. OR Degree in journalism and mass communication from a recognised university/institute.

Training

After the officers are allocated the Service depending on their rank and preferences in the Civil Services Exam, they undergo a three-month Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussoorie. This is followed by nine months of professional training at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. During the training period there is also a 3-week training module for IIS Officer Trainees at Film and Television Institute of India Pune. Thereafter, an IIS Probationer undergoes one year On-Job-Training, during which he/she is attached to various media units under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting such as-

• Press Information Bureau
• All India Radio
• DD News
• Registrar of Newspapers for India
• Publications Division[5]
• Directorate of Field Publicity
• New Media Wing of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity
• Electronic Media Monitoring Centre

Postings after training

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has its own media houses that help in the dissemination of information from the government to the public. IIS officers are stationed in these media units to serve the government’s interests.

• Many IIS officers work in DD News, All India Radio networks, Prasar Bharathi, etc.
• They also serve as officers in Press information bureaus. In these bureaus, they get higher postings leading them to represent respective ministries in the form of spokespersons.
• IIS officers are also deputed as spokespersons to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the election commission of India, and also the Central Bureau of investigation.
• They are also deputed internationally on foreign assignments.

Work profile

By its very nature of handling the information and communication, the Service enjoys a great diversity in its nature of work and responsibilities. The Ministry of I&B lists the functions of an IIS officer in its official mandate as

• To plan and execute the media strategy to provide publicity to various programmes/schemes of the government for the welfare of the people across the country.
• Organising press conferences and visual publicity campaigns for disseminating information to the people on the various activities and policies of the Government of India through various tools of mass communication.
• Control, supervision and guidance to News Services units of All India Radio and DD News including regional news units.
• To look after administration and coordination work of PIB headquarters and day to day publicity work of the government.
• To guide, supervise and control the field publicity units of the Central Government spread across the country and to issue timely directions for effective monitoring and evaluation of field units.
• To monitor the complex legal issues involved in the verification of titles, registration and circulation for Newspapers in India.

Career prospects

Soon after the probationary period of an IIS officer, he gets posted to a media unit attached to the government of India. Again, the tenure at the media unit is dependent on the number of vacancies and requirements they have at the point of time of induction. So broadly speaking, an IIS officer travels through these roles to achieve seniority and related benefits in his career progression. The path traversed by the IIS officer is listed below for quick reference:

• In the initial posting as the junior grade officer, he serves as the Assistant Director.
• In the first promotion to a senior role, he is posted as the Deputy Director.
• In the junior administrative cadre, he is appointed as the Joint Director or as the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India.
• He is also posted as the Director in the junior administrative cadre.
• In the senior administration cadre, he holds the post of Additional Director General, which is equivalently termed the joint secretary posting to the Government of India
• As a selection grade officer, he is posted as Director General.
• In higher administrative grades, he can be posted as Principal Director General.

Recruitment Notification

• Hindi Translator vacancy in Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Recruitment 2020
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued recruitment notification for the post Hindi Translator eligible candidates can submit their application before April 27, 2020.
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting March 2020 Notification details

Hindi Translator | MA | Job Location: Chennai | Total Vacancies: 1 | Last date to apply: April 27, 2020