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Tag: Swachh Bharat Mission

  • TikTok partners Bhumi to launch #CleanIndia campaign

    TikTok partners Bhumi to launch #CleanIndia campaign

    MUMBAI: TikTok, the world's leading short video platform, has collaborated with the largest independent and youth volunteer non-profit organisation, Bhumi, to launch the #CleanIndia Campaign. The campaign aims to mobilise TikTok community to contribute to the Swachh Bharat Mission to achieve universal sanitation coverage and draw focus on it in the country.

    As part of the partnership, TikTok has launched a campaign #CleanIndia on the platform to encourage users to participate in this challenge by cleaning their neighbourhood and showcasing their work on TikTok by posting before and after videos. Bhumi will conduct and host cleanliness drives across multiple cities pan India to encourage TikTok users and citizens to volunteer in this mission. The entire campaign will culminate into 100+ events spread across 30+ cities, starting from 2 August until 2 October 2019 to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary and help achieve the Swachh Bharat Mission of a cleaner India.

    TikTok India director, public policy Nitin Saluja said, “TikTok is committed to fostering  constructive change in India through its platform and we are delighted to collaborate with Bhumi for this significant campaign. Cleanliness is extremely important as it has significant health and economic benefits and with this campaign we are excited to contribute to the overall Swachh Bharat Mission by leveraging TikTok’s strong user community that hails from the deepest pockets of India and influence change for social good.” 

    "We are delighted to partner with TikTok to take our mission forward and realise the Clean India vision. With the collaboration, our aim is to encourage TikTok community to volunteer and encourage others towards cleanliness of our surrounding areas. We also encourage the TikTok users to become part of our Clean Squad and supplement the Swachh Bharat Mission and improving universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces." said Bhumi co-founder Prahalathan KK.

    This collaboration with Bhumi and the #CleanIndia campaign has been launched as part of TikTok For Good, a long-term, integrated engagement initiative. It recognises TikTok’s commitment and contribution to India's creative economy and as a content platform for social good.

  • Govt launches ‘Darwaza Band-Part 2’ campaign to promote ODF sustainability

    Govt launches ‘Darwaza Band-Part 2’ campaign to promote ODF sustainability

    MUMBAI: The Swachh Bharat Mission  Grameen launched the 'Darwaza Band -Part 2' campaign focusing on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country. Produced by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the campaign has been supported by the World Bank.

    The launch event took place in Mumbai and was attended by brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, Maharashtra minister for water supply and sanitation Babanrao Lonikar, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer and other dignitaries and representatives of the Mission's development partners.

    At the launch, World Bank manager—operations, New Delhi office Hisham Abdo Kahin spoke about World Bank’s longstanding association with the Swachh Bharat Mission. He said that India’s commitment and progress on improving sanitation were unprecedented in the world and that India had achieved in five years what many of the much smaller countries took over 40 years to achieve.

    The ads will be aired across various television channels over the next few weeks in various regional languages. There will also be radio jingles, outdoor publicity and digital campaigns aired under the campaign.

  • Akshay Kumar extends sanitation drive by associating with Swachh Bharat Mission

    Akshay Kumar extends sanitation drive by associating with Swachh Bharat Mission

    MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has joined hands with Indian government’s cleanliness initiative Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) and launched a new campaign.

    The campaign was launched at a Collectors Convention for Toilet Technology organised in Delhi and focuses on promoting the twin pit toilet technology in rural India, and also features actor Bhumi Pednekar along with Kumar.

    In his welcome address, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer spoke about the contribution made by Kumar to the Swachh Bharat Mission. He said that right from his movie, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, which was seen and appreciated by rural and urban people across the country, to his participation in the twin pit toilet advertisement campaign for the Swachh Bharat Mission, Kumar has been a strong supporter of the sanitation movement underway in the country.

    Kumar interacted with Swachh Bharat Mission officials, district collectors, communication experts and members from the media on the occasion. During his interaction, he spoke about the need for influencers of society to talk freely about toilets, and empty toilet pits around the country to destigmatise cleaning of one’s own toilet by members of the family itself.

    The district collectors and field officials, during the interaction, spoke about the power of women in leading the sanitation mission in rural areas, and the role played by the movie, in leading this behaviour change. It was also announced by the ministry of drinking water and sanitation on this occasion that the producers of Toilet Ek Prem Katha have given rights to all state and district teams of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) to screen the movie in villages on a non-commercial basis.

    The twin pit toilet technology was invented in India and is the most well-suited toilet technology for rural India, and is recommended by Government of India and the World Health Organisation. It is scientifically proven that a pit in a standard twin-pit toilet model fills up in roughly five years for a 6-membered family.

    The states are continuously encouraged by the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) to include awareness generation about the above facts as part of their grassroots information, education and communication (IEC) efforts.

    The advertisement campaign launched is an effort, supported by the World Bank, towards encouraging this technology using mass media.

    The advertisement will be translated in several regional languages including Hindi on television channels.

  • Astral gets women brigade to warn open defecation

    MUMBAI: Open defecation: an issue that has been spoken about at great length in the recent past but has there really been any change in the habit? While the jury is still out there in the open, there are a few brands that have taken the onus of pursuing the cause and educating the masses on the need to stop defecating in the open. This initiative has especially gained steam after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call to all Indians under Swachh Bharat Mission. Asserting its role as an evangelist for the cause, Astral Pipes has come up with a social message on the subject through its latest film.

    Open defecation is an inherent hygiene problem of rural India, more so with women whose safety is always ignored and compromised. So much so that it is a torture for rural women to defecate in the open – a problem which has been ignored by the male members since many generations – as a result of which women are teased, taunted, and even raped while going out to relieve themselves. To highlight this plight, Lowe LintasAhmedabad came up with a unique idea for Astral Pipes: time for women to take revenge at the casual attitude shown by the male members in spite of Government of India funding the construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

    Sharing his thoughts on the need to be associated with this social cause, Astral sr business development manager Kairav Engineer said, “Astral Pipes is a leader in the CPVC pipes category. Our leadership is attributed to our single-minded focus on innovating to create efficient water management products. But, at one end where we are pioneering products that improve the quality of sanitation management in our country, there are still thousands of women who are denied basic sanitation, forcing them to resort to open defecation. With this campaign, we are not only hoping to spark a realisation about the evils of open defecation amongst those who are the most inflicted, but also support the Government’s Swachh Bharat initiative by creating awareness among masses and playing our part as responsible corporate citizen.”

    The film is set in a rural background where few men are seen making a beeline to the open fields as part of a ritual that’s as old as humanity itself. What seems like a normal routine is actually a disturbing trend where they head out in the open at the dawn of sunrise every day to relieve themselves. This habit has led many womenfolk to follow suit without actually wanting to partake of the habit. Dreadful as they are when they venture out due to fear of being spotted or followed or even picked upon by passer-byes, womenfolk have very little choice as the men refuse to take cognizance of the dangers that face them every passing day. But this can no longer be a casual affair and the womenfolk have found just the right way to teach the men a lesson.

    Acting as moral brigades, the womenfolk are shown surrounding the men as they take positions in the field to carry out their morning routine. In a single chorus, they belt out a meaningful rendition that despises the actions of men for ignoring threats faced by women when it comes to open defecation. So much so that they make them realize the importance of constructing toilets in their own homes instead of surviving on external factors. In the end, the men come to terms with the importance of building toilets at home so that the womenfolk feel secure and basic hygiene is maintained.

    Elucidating on the campaign thought, Lowe Lintas ED Sagar Kapoor said, “We are very excited to begin the Social Mission journey with brand Astral. The issue of open defecation has been taken up by many brands and authorities. And thankfully so. There’s so much to be done in the area. The irony is the rural menfolk take this issue as lightly as a nag by the women. While on the other hand open defecation has drastic outcomes like eve teasing, rape and even murders of women. Our communication piece therefore has taken a very different tone and pitch, to bring about not just awareness but also effect change.”

    The film has been launched on the online as well as offline platform and will be pushed extensively across government-promoted outdoor initiatives as well

  • DD invites short films on Govt schemes, ‘DAVP producers’ preferred

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has invited proposals from experienced producers for five Hindi documentaries on five different programmes of the incumbent government.

    The proposals for films with maximum duration of 24 minutes have to be submitted by 24 April 2017. They should also be accompanied by a shorter version of three minutes. The aim of the films will be to showcase success stories in all the five programmes.

    The five programmes to be covered are Saugmya Bharat – Accessible India Campaign of the Social Justice Ministry, Swachh Bharat Mission of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry, Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas of the Minority Affairs Ministry, Mission Indradhanush of the Health Ministry, and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana including the Soil Health Card of the Agriculture Ministry.

    Preference will be given to producers empanelled with the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity but the producer shall not be a defaulter with DAVP or Doordarshan at the time of submission of proposal.

    The producer must have produced for any broadcaster at least 24 hours of factual documentaries in any Indian language in the last three financial years. The producer should have an annual turnover of a minimum Rs 10 million in each of the last three financial years.

    Also read: Parliamentary panel pans DD, AIR for recurring lapses

    Govt denies cartelisation in Prasar Bharati, 724 complaints against MIB in ’16

    DD ad budget crosses Rs 33 million at fag end of 2016-17

  • Over 4000 films received for Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival

    Over 4000 films received for Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Over 4000 entries have been received from across the country in various Indian languages on the theme of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

    The winners of the best films will be felicitated by Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on 2 October 2016. MoS I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore will also be present on the occasion.

    The Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival was organized by the National Film Development Corporation on behalf of the Ministry. The key objective of the Festival was to generate awareness, inspire people and include them as stakeholders in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

    The short films festival was a competition inviting films of duration not more than 3 minutes. The jury comprised eminent theatre and film actor–producer Vani Tripathi, award-winning filmmaker Ms. Gitanjali Rao, and celebrated advertising personality Prahlad Kakar, has selected 20 short films out of the 4346 entries.

    The Directors of the top ten films would be given cash awards of Rs 10 lakhs (One Million for top film), Rs 500,000 (next three films) and Rs 200,000 respectively (last 6 films), while the next ten would be awarded certificates. All participants would be given certificates of participation.

  • Over 4000 films received for Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival

    Over 4000 films received for Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Over 4000 entries have been received from across the country in various Indian languages on the theme of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

    The winners of the best films will be felicitated by Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on 2 October 2016. MoS I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore will also be present on the occasion.

    The Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival was organized by the National Film Development Corporation on behalf of the Ministry. The key objective of the Festival was to generate awareness, inspire people and include them as stakeholders in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

    The short films festival was a competition inviting films of duration not more than 3 minutes. The jury comprised eminent theatre and film actor–producer Vani Tripathi, award-winning filmmaker Ms. Gitanjali Rao, and celebrated advertising personality Prahlad Kakar, has selected 20 short films out of the 4346 entries.

    The Directors of the top ten films would be given cash awards of Rs 10 lakhs (One Million for top film), Rs 500,000 (next three films) and Rs 200,000 respectively (last 6 films), while the next ten would be awarded certificates. All participants would be given certificates of participation.

  • Major initiatives of the I&B Ministry in 2014

    Major initiatives of the I&B Ministry in 2014

    The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) has undertaken key initiatives in the different sectors aimed at enhancing the outreach of policies and programmes across platforms. Some of the initiatives undertaken have been innovative, involving people’s participation, enhancing government’s presence on the social media platforms and strengthening communication at the grassroots. Some of the key initiatives are as under:

     

    Initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission

    As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Ministry initiated a 360 degree multimedia campaign to enhance the outreach and impact of the Mission. All media units were involved in outlining audience specific content, tools and action plan. Intensive discussions were held with key stakeholders of the mission and innovative strategies were incorporated across media platforms for greater visibility and impact. Some of the key initiatives undertaken by the Ministry are as follows:
     

    Three Day Rashtriya Bal Film Mela on the theme “Swachhta”

    Organized by the Children’s Film Society of India (CSFI) on the occasion of National Children’s Day celebrations, the three day festival provided an opportunity for children to appreciate high-quality film content, experience value-based entertainment, and to trigger their imagination about environment conservation and cleanliness. The festival showcased a bunch of internationally acclaimed children’s films on the theme of cleanliness.

    The Festival featured interactive workshops on film-making, film appreciation, animation, Charlie Chaplin’s Mimes and storytelling. Live dance performances, magic act, sand act, and puppetry along with various competitions such as painting on the theme, ‘Swachhta’, and digital collage on the theme ‘Clean India’ and the craft of making utility items from waste materials, were being organized on the sidelines of the festival.

     

    1. Creation of Audio-Visual Spots on Swachh Bharat Mission.
    2. Animation / short video competition (less than three minute duration) organized on the digital volunteer platform of the Ministry with 15 October as deadline.
    3. Launch of Photo-Competition depicting “before and after pictures of cleanliness” on the digital volunteer platform with 15 October as deadline.
    4. Creation of an animation film by New Media Wing
    5. Crowd sourcing for the design of print advertisements
    6. Developing platform specific content on social media
    7. Creation of banners, logos and e-mailers for spreading of the message through social media
    8. Jingles on All India Radio
    9. Community Radio Mobilization to effectively reach the grass root communities
    10. Advisory to private TV & FM channels to become part of the campaign so as to enhance impact and outreach of the mission
    11. Anchor based and in-house serials on DD & AIR
    12. News bulletins through special success stories on DD & AIR
    13. Interactive programmes on DD & AIR
    14. Public Information Campaigns to focus on the core issues of the mission.
    15. Interpersonal communication strategies through field units of the Ministry.

     

    Launch of the DAVP Calendar, “Clean India, Green India”: The year 2015 calendar has been developed on the theme of “Clean India Green India” with focus on “Swachhta” and environment issues. The January page of the Calendar displayed the launch of the “Swachh Bharat Mission by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. While the February page carried the message of ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ and ‘Bal Swachhta Abhiyan’, the March page was designed on the theme, ‘Rejuvenating Rivers.’ The April Page of the Calendar portrayed “Clean Hospitals: A Healthy India,” May depicted the cleanliness drive of Railways, June focused on Rejuvenation of the River Ganges, ‘Namami Gange’, and July on people’s participation in Swachh Bharat Movement. The August page was on the theme of Clean Villages; the month of September highlighted Solar Energy as clean and renewable source of energy; October depicted Wind Power as pollution free source of energy and November emphasized the need to preserve Himalayan Ranges. Wildlife conservation was the theme for December.

     

    For the first time ever, a mobile app of the calendar has been developed. The mobile App would provide access to the latest tweets from the PMO, the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the press releases on the PIB website. In addition to being a window for all websites of Government of India, this informative application would serve as a planner to the users bringing news updates from AIR and DD News. The mobile app was developed for Android platforms initially, which would be made available on other mobile platforms also in due course of time.

     

     

    Organising Press Conferences to highlight achievements and initiatives of the Government:The strategy adopted has been extremely successful in positioning the visibility of Government’s initiatives across media platforms.

     

    Multimedia Exhibition on Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee:The Ministry of I&B has mounted a multimedia exhibition under the aegis of DAVP on the former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The exhibition would serve as an inspiration and learning to the people in understanding the life and contributions of Shri Vajpayee as a politician, statesman, and poet. The exhibition was inaugurated by Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley on 20 December, 2014.

     

    The exhibition portrays the life of Shri Vajpayee, through a display of around 250 photographs, which reflect his vibrant personality. These rare pictures not only take the visitors through the political journey of this visionary leader, but also provide a glimpse into the diverse phases of his life – as a poet and a great thinker. At this event, different facets of his life will be showcased through photo and electronic exhibition. Scrollers, translites, LED walls, large fascia and title boards are the major attractions of the exhibition. The exhibition was open to public from 20 – 25 December, 2014.

     

    Establishment of Social Media Presence of Government of India: In order to facilitate Ministries/Departments in registering their presence on social media by utilizing the services of the Communications Hub established by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the ministry organized a half day training workshop on 11 July, 2014 at the National Media Centre. The response was very encouraging as about 150 officers representing 59 Ministries/Departments attended the workshop. An interactive Q&A session was also held before concluding the workshop and induction material including a handbook on social media was also distributed to all the participants.

     

    Third and fourth phase of digitization: A Task Force has been constituted with the approval of MIB to steer the remaining two phases i.e., Phase III and Phase IV of digitization in India. The Task Force is headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry and comprises stakeholders from various ministries, departments and industry representatives. The constitution of the Task Force paves the way for implementation of digitization initiative in India, which will see digitization of about 8 crores cable TV homes in India. This will bring India in the league of developed nations. It is also a step towards the Prime Minister’s dream of a Digital India, as digitization will enable quick penetration of broadband connectivity in India.

     

    Government of India vide Notification dated 11 September, 2014 has revised the timeframe for digitization for Phase-III and IV of the Cable TV. As per revised guidelines, Phase-III and IV of Cable TV would be completed by December 2015 and December 2016 respectively.

     

    Third phase of FM radio auction: The Cabinet Note on third phase of FM has been moved for cabinet approval. This decision of the Ministry of I&B will pave the way for e-auction of FM Phase-III channels.

     

    Goa declared the permanent destination for International Films Festival of India: In order to develop the “Brand IFFI” on the lines of other international film festivals, Goa has been declared as the permanent destination for International Films Festival of India (IFFI). The IFFI platform propagated the theme “Green India, Clean India” at all the major events organized under its banner.

     

    North East Film Festival: For the first time, a three-day North East Film Festival was held in Delhi (Siri Fort Complex) on a grand scale. It will henceforth be an annual feature, a prominent event in the film festival calendar of the Directorate of Film Festivals. The Festival concluded on 24 August, 2014.

     

    FTII, SRFTII to be institutes of national importance: In order to provide statutory backing through an act of Parliament to declare both the institutes as Institutes of National Importance the government has proposed a Bill. The proposed Bill would enable both the institutes to award its own degrees and diplomas and start new activities on the lines of IITs and IIMs. Cabinet Note has been moved.

     

    Meeting with stakeholders related to Set-Top-Boxes to promote indigenization of digitization: Efforts were taken to fulfill the long pending demand of domestic manufacturers of Set-Top-Boxes (STBs) to get tax concession (C Form benefit) in order to compete with imported STBs. A letter was written by Hon’ble MIB to Hon’ble Finance Minister to resolve the issue of C-Form concession to domestic manufacturers. This was followed by a meeting by Hon’ble MIB with senior officials from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Telecom, Bureau of Indian Standards etc., and other industry stakeholders like indigenous STB manufacturers, DTH Association and MSO Associations etc. As a result of continuous follow up, Department of Telecom has confirmed Set Top Box as “Telecom Network Equipment”. The proposal has also been approved by the Ministry of Finance and a letter has already been issued to all the State Governments, Commissioners of Taxes and other concerned that STB will get the facility of ‘Form C’.

     

    e-initiatives: The Office of Registrar of Newspapers for India, M/o I&B has streamlined its Single Window Public dealing mechanism at its office. The RNI has achieved 100% success in online e-filing of Annual statements by publishers for 2013-14. The software module has been finalized for online filing of title verification application. It has also started sending automatic SMS intimation about status of title and registration application to publishers.

     

    Boost to Community Radio movement in the Country:Hon’ble MIB has been given a lot of emphasis on reaching out to the people especially in rural and marginalized areas with effective development communication. Community Radios are one of the best tools to touch the lives of millions of people as it is the platform, which provides an opportunity to community to not only receive messages from Government but also provide its feedback, which ensures two-way communication. An announcement has been made by Hon’ble Finance Minister in his budget speech allocating an amount of Rs 100 crores for “Supporting Community Radio Movement in India.” This would enable setting up of 600 community radio stations across the country in the 12th Five Year Plan. The resources would also be utilized for enhancing awareness, building capacities of community radio operators and promoting innovations in the sector. Funds would also be provided to various CR operators as a matching grant for setting up /upgrading community radio stations. At present 170 community radios are operating in various parts of India and about 200 are in the pipeline. This major initiative of the new government will strengthen the connect with the population living in rural and marginalized areas.

     

    A monitoring mechanism is also being set up to monitor community radio stations live at Electronic Media Monitoring Centre.

     

     

    Simplification of Procedures for granting Television licenses for starting additional television channels: Ministry of I&B grants permission to private television channels in India. At present about 800 TV channels have already been permitted by the Ministry of I&B. India has a huge broadcasting industry, thanks to the large number of television channels providing news and entertainment in various languages both at the national and regional level. Many companies desirous of starting new television channels have been approaching the Ministry to simplify procedures for launch of additional television channels. The issue of grant of additional television channels had become complicated as previously it was decided that for starting every additional TV channel security clearance would be required even for the same company and same set of Directors, who had been security cleared earlier, within the period of validity of such security clearance.

     

    Proposal cleared for Rs 600 crore National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) to preserve India’s film legacy: The revised EFC proposal for a Rs 600 crore National Film Heritage Mission project to preserve India’s filmic legacy was cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee in the Ministry of Finance on 3 July, 2014. The modalities are being worked out to launch it at the earliest.

     

    Peoples’ participation in Government Advertising through Crowd-Sourcing of Advertisements: The advertisement for the important events being designed on the crowd-sourcing model. Independence Day advertisement designed on these lines and DAVP has invited suggestions for the proposed advertisement to be brought out on 5 September to observe “Teachers Day”.

     

    Adopting 360 degree approach to information dissemination: Designing integrated campaigns based on the 360 degree approach, the core theme touching all tools including the contemporary as well as new media. For Independence Day, the advertisements were crowd-sourced for the first time and coverage was extended to all media platforms.

     

    Transparency Steps have also been taken by the Ministry to enhance transparency and expedite approvals for which Open House Meetings have been started for Community Radio applicants on the first of every month. For Multi System Operators (MSOs), Open House meetings are held every week on Tuesday. For television applicants, Open House meetings are held every fortnight i.e., on 5th and 20th of every month. This provides an opportunity to applicants to have a direct interaction with the Ministry officials and clarify their doubts as well as to get the status of their pending applications. This has enhanced transparency and accountability in the grant of various permissions to applicants of Community Radios, television channels, MSO permissions etc.

     

    Screening of rare archival footage: A half an hour film, “Road To Freedom,” was produced by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, based solely on rare archival footage. It was screened on DD (National) on 15 August, 2014. More such films will be produced and screened on days like 2nd October, 26th January and such like.

     

    Organisation of One Day Workshop on ‘Crisis Communication’:  In pursuance of the decision taken in Committee of Secretaries (CoS) meeting held on 1 July 2014 to consider measures to upgrade the efficacy of control and response system of Government in crisis situation, Ministry of Information organized a one day training session for senior officers of various Ministries/ Departments on ‘Communicating with Media’ through Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) on 22 September, 2014 at National Media Centre.

     

    (These are purely personal views of I&B Ministry secretary Bimal Julka and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Facebook to join hands with Indian government

    Facebook to join hands with Indian government

    MUMBAI: After swooning the nation with his ideas to enhance the internet connectivity in India in the Internet.org summit, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was in the country on a two-day visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 October.

    Soon after the meeting, the PM tweeted, “It was wonderful meeting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. We discussed a wide range of issues.”

    The discussion included an array of topics revolving around the innovative use of Facebook as a platform to engage with a large audience in the service of humanity; from helping in the digital India campaign to fighting terrorism using social media.

    “I spoke to him about Swachh Bharat Mission. Zuckerberg shared that Facebook would assist the Government of India in the Clean India mobile application. This will surely give an impetus to Swachh Bharat Mission. “

    “Zuckerberg is excited about Digital India initiative. I requested him to identify certain areas where Facebook can help us in that. I also requested Zuckerberg to identify how Facebook can help promote India’s rich tourist potential across the world,” Modi posted on his Facebook page.

    They also talked about the Digital India initiative. A statement on Modi’s website said, “Zuckerberg said that he is extremely excited about the Digital India initiative of the Government of India. Prime Minister Shri Modi asked him to identify some domains of Digital India where Facebook can get involved and help.”

    The Prime Minister appealed to Facebook co-founder to look at how to enhance Internet literacy along with Internet connectivity.

    Adding to the same, Zuckerberg stated that Facebook wants to work with the Government of India in the fields of healthcare, education and provide a gamut of services to the people.

    He further added that Facebook will also help in the creation of the Clean India Mobile App and that it would be launched soon. This would give a strong impetus to the Swachh Bharat Mission.

    In the meeting, PM also pointed out that lots of terrorist elements are using social media platforms to recruit members, according to an official statement.
    “This is unfortunate and we need to think of the role the social media can play to stop terror,” Modi said.

    Earlier in the day, the Facebook co-founder also met Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as part of the Centre’s ambitious Digital India plan which seeks to expand internet access across the nation.

    “Mark’s interest in India impressed me. Facebook wants to work with the Digital India program and the Indian govt is happy to support them in their launch of internet.org,” Prasad said.

    “He has shown profound interest to involve Facebook in the Digital India program and in broadband distribution, e-Health, e-Education etc. Really there is a great scope to work together. His idea to promote entrepreneurship among Indians in the field of IT was truly remarkable,” he posted on his Facebook page.

    They also spoke about the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) project during their meeting which aims to connect 2.5 lakh village panchayats through high-speed broadband by 2017.

    Prasad said that he believes there exists a great opportunity for Facebook to harness the vast potential of Indian entrepreneurs in retailing of internet connectivity to the masses by involving local entrepreneurs. Government would extend all cooperation to Facebook in this endeavor.

    He proposed that Facebook could contribute to India’s Rs 21,000-crore NOFN project on last-mile connectivity.

    Zuckerberg also spoke of alternate technology such as drones and satellite communications playing a critical part in this last-mile linkage.

    “India could be the first country in which Facebook deploys drones to provide broadband connectivity in remote and inaccessible areas, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg proposing a pilot project to bridge this digital divide during his meeting,” the IT Minister added.

    Facebook’s Connectivity Lab is actively developing large, inexpensive, solar-powered drones that will be able to fly for years at a time, the division’s engineering director Yael Maguire announced earlier this year. These unmanned vehicles will be about the size of a Boeing 747 but weigh only as much as four car tyres while serving as large connectivity hubs.

    The drones would fly at a height of 60,000 to 90,000 feet above the ground, far above commercial jetliners and at a level where they wouldn’t be affected by the weather, effectively making them invisible.

    In order to continuously provide Wi-Fi coverage, they would be powered by the sun, Maguire had said, adding that these could be tested in the US as early as next year.

    On 9 October, while addressing media persons, Zuckerberg had said that Facebook is working extensively in rural India to enhance connectivity. “Internet.org  is an effort to bring basic Internet services to all”, he added. The pilot project of Facebook has already helped to connect more than 3 million people with this program.  “If we can connect people over here, we can help bring this rich Indian culture to the world.”

    Stressing on the importance of connectivity, Zuckerberg had said while India has about 243 million Internet users and have 100 million plus Facebook users, there are over a billion people in the country who do not have access to the net.

    The 30-year-old billionaire is the third high-profile head of a US-based tech firm to visit India in the last few weeks, after Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

     

  • Joshi composes, Kher sings on ‘Swachh Bharat’

    Joshi composes, Kher sings on ‘Swachh Bharat’

    NEW DELHI: An audio track of the song “Swachh Bharat ka Irada Kar liya hum ne” sung by Kailash Kher has been composed by lyricist Prasoon Joshi and put to music by Vishal Khurana.

     

    The track was released by Information and Broadcasting Ministry Prakash Javadekar over the weekend as he administered the pledge of the Swachh Bharat Mission along with the senior officials and staff of the Ministry. 

    The song specially prepared for the Swachh Bharat Mission was composed in very short span of time. A section of the track was shown at the India Gate Ceremony graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October.

     

    A special song composed by the Song and Drama division on Swachh Bharat Mission was also performed live during the pledge taking ceremony. 

    The Minister along with senior officials took part in the cleaning drive in the premises of Shastri Bhawan. Joshi, Kher and Khurana also took part in the cleaning drive.  

     

    Similar cleaning drives were held in many Press Information Bureau offices in the country.