Officer Trainees of Indian Information Service Call on the President

A group of officer trainees of the Indian Information Service (2018 batch) called on the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, today  at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

Addressing the officer trainees, the President said that as officers of Indian Information Service, they play a versatile role in not only dissemination of information but also in checking its veracity and collating it for a meaningful purpose. In this era of dumbing down of information, they need to emerge as providers of positive information, that is, information which is useful and relevant for people and society. This is in addition to their role as Information Gate Keepers and Information Enablers. 

The President said that through public outreach and communication, IIS officers can educate people about different welfare schemes and policies. All of them have the skills and ability to make these welfare schemes and policies comprehensible, relevant, real and actionable for the people at the last mile. Thus, they play an important role in ensuring people’s participation which is most critical to the success of any programme. 

The President urged IIS officers to develop strong professional networks with the media community, so that they can disseminate correct information concerning issues of public importance and check misinformation. He said that by doing so they would be able to ensure that the government’s outreach and communication with people shall remain relevant, timely, practical and effective.