New Delhi, December 10: The Information and public relation minister Dr M. Ampareen Lyngdoh in her address at the 28th State Information Minister’s Conference held in the National Capital New Delhi today acknowledge that media has play a big role in providing information to the people in government development activities that was carried out in the state.
Dr Ampareen , in the conference said that In line with global trends, the revolutionizing changes in the field of information technology have had their effect on the state of Meghalaya. With the dawn of every new year, media consumption continues to grow not only in urban areas but also in far flung villages. In view of these developments, the Government continuously endeavours to improve its service delivery to the people by putting in place necessary infrastructure to ensure that people from every nook and corner of the state have access to timely information. By doing so, the Government is giving a huge fillip to the growth and development of the State.
In an effort to streamline the functioning of the print and electronic media, the State Government has its own Advertisement Policy which was in place since 1988.The Advertisement Policy has been amended from time to time to fine-tune the Policy and for the benefit of all concerned. The last time the advertisement rate for Newspapers was revised is on 31st January 2013.
With an aim to examine the possibilities of revision of Government advertisement rates, an Advertisement Committee was constituted on 22nd November 2016. The term of reference of the committee include also to workout suitable advertisement rates for the electronic and online media.
As far as Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995, the State Government has notified the constitution of the State Monitoring Committee at the state level; and District Monitoring Committees at the district level and the latest notification for the reconstitution of the Committees was on 30th August 2016 to enforce the Act in the State of Meghalaya.
Over the years, Meghalaya’s panoramic landscapes have been attracting many film makers, both from within the country and abroad to shoot films and documentaries in the State. Therefore taking advantage of the interest that the state and the region as a whole generates among filmmakers, the Government is tirelessly endeavouring to promote Meghalaya as a film friendly destination which is in line with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC)’s measure to promote film making in India.
As far as the state is concerned, guidelines for Film shooting are yet to be framed by the Government. However, the exercise of bringing forth the Meghalaya State Film Policy is under process. The anticipated State Film Policy would help felicitate film making and film makers Local and Outstation in the state of Meghalaya. List of names and contact details of some local Film Producers and Production Houses were also shared with Film facilitation Office (FFO), Kolkata for future correspondence as and when the need arises.
As far as Community Radio is concerned, it may be pointed out that the present coverage of the Community Radio Station at Williamnagar is very poor. Therefore, for wider coverage, there is a need to upgrade the Community Radio Station at Nongstoin and Williamnagar to Local Radio Stations so that they could serve the community more effectively.
