Assignment Code: MDC-002/July 22- Jan 2023

Course Code: MDC-002

Assignment Name: Human Development and Communication

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Maximum Marks: 100

Weightage: 30%

Note: Answer all the questions; they carry equal marks. (Answer in 500 Words)

Q1. Describe communication support for Rural Development.

Ans) Workers in the development sector need scientific and technical knowledge. They must have access to information assistance through the collection, collation, organisation, storage, and retrieval of data. Science and technological information are typically presented as information. The target audience must be able to grasp it since the development employees need assistance with technical writing and editing. Various mediums are used to effectively communicate, depending on the sociopsychological make-up of the audience. The development workers need assistance processing messages that are pertinent to the communication media that have been chosen. Support for audio-visual production is therefore anticipated within the framework of rural development. In addition to providing printing, photography, video, and mailing services, it's also vital to help rural development with technical writing, editing, and audio-visual production.

In India, programmes for rural development are implemented without a structured and well-planned communication support component, which should be incorporated into their operations. This is not to argue that there is no communication activity, but the majority of the programmes for global development are plagued by communication issues of varying severity. It is clear from the following issues that communication operations lack a coordinated and planned strategy: inadequate data about the issues that affect the target group in terms of social, psychological, economic, technical, and communication issues.

The majority of information on the target group's situation is reported positively by rural development staff members, who try to avoid sharing any unfavourable or unpleasant details. As a result, it is difficult for communication staff to address the needs of development since there is a lack of feed-forward information reflecting both good and negative feedback.

Rural development is hampered by a lack of extension communication workers with sufficient skill sets and numbers. Although some of the staff members have decent educations and expertise in specialised fields, they are few in number and lack communication skills. Currently, technical topics or technical messages are discussed during meetings by extension communicators, but not the communication plan that supports the technical messages. Again, this is a result of a lack of understanding of the value of communication.

The modern era has been correctly referred to as the "information age." In modern culture, information has great value. Information is now ingrained in every aspect of our daily lives. People today demand accurate information as soon as feasible. The mass media, specifically the newspapers, radio, and television, are meeting this crucial requirement of the populace. It is essential for a country's speedy and comprehensive growth that its residents are well-informed about what is going on in their immediate environment. Without reaching the intended users, development data and technology produced for farmers are useless. Only around 30% of the technologies, according to estimates, are adopted and used by farmers. Additionally, it is stated that it will take around 20 years for the technologies developed today to reach all final customers.

Q2. Discuss the functions of Panchayati Raj institutions.

Ans)

Gram Panchayat

A gramme panchayat is made up of a sarpanch and five to thirteen elected panches who are chosen by the Gram Sabha to serve terms of five years, depending on the population. The same Electoral College that chooses representatives for the state's Legislative Assembly and the Lok Sabha also chooses members of local panchayats (the lower house of Parliament). The election roll for PRIs elections is created by the State Election Commission. The Sarpanch, also known as the Chairperson, is in charge of the Gram Panchayat, and both he or she and the Deputy Sarpanch are often chosen by popular vote.

Functions of the Panchayat

The creation of annual development plans and its budget, as well as the building, repair, and maintenance of community assets, khadi and village industries, rural housing, rural electrification, non-conventional energy sources, poverty alleviation, education, public health, and family welfare, adult and non-formal education, cultural activities, fairs, and festivals, as well as the promotion of agriculture, including animal husbandry, dairying, and poultry farming, are among the important duties of the gramme panchayat.

Panchayat Samiti

Panchayat Samiti is the name of the intermediate-level panchayat. It operates at the Development Block level, commonly known as Tehsil or Taluka. The Panchayat Sarniti serves as a liaison between the district government and the gramme panchayat. The Mandal Parishad, Taluka Panchayat, and Mandal Panchayat are additional names for the Panchayat Samiti. Grants and loans from the state government are the Samiti's primary sources of funding. Each development block, or small development area, has a panchayat samiti. 15 to 25 directly elected members from territorial constituencies make up its membership.

Functions of the Panchayat Samiti

The key responsibilities include improving agriculture, land use, establishing primary health care facilities and schools, providing clean water and sanitation, building and maintaining roads, establishing cooperative societies and youth organisations, managing irrigation and water resources, and promoting animal husbandry, dairying, poultry, fisheries, social services, social welfare, technical training, and rural economic development.

Zilla Parishad

A zilla parishad is an administrative unit that oversees the entirety of a district, excluding any territories that are part of a municipality or cantonment board. Taxes on water, pilgrimage, markets, and other items, money from the state government for projects and programmes entrusted to the Parishad, and a set payment from the state government based on land revenue are all sources of income for Zilla Parishad. The ex-officio CEO of the zilla parishad is the district's Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development).

Function of the Zilla Parishad

The duties include planning and carrying out development projects for the district, providing basic services and facilities to the rural population, agriculture projects like seed supply, irrigation, new farming techniques, etc., distribution of essential commodities, ground water resources, and watershed development, horticulture, statistics, rural electrification, animal husbandry and dairying, fisheries, small scale industries including f

Q3. Explain role of Governmental development agencies in development.

Ans) government organisations' function in development. The direction of development efforts to be undertaken both in the short term and the long term is heavily influenced by various government entities. It is mentioned how a few significant government organisations contribute to India's development. These organisations are.

Niti Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)

NITI Aayog, also known as the National Institution for Transforming India, was established on January 1, 2015, as a result of a decision passed by the Union Cabinet. The Government of India's top policy "Think Tank," NITI Aayog, offers both directional and policy inputs. In addition to developing long-term, strategic plans and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also offers the Center and States pertinent technical guidance. The Planning Commission was established in 1950, therefore the Indian government decided to replace it with the NITI Aayog as part of its reform strategy. To better meet the needs and ambitions of the Indian people, this was done. In a significant departure from the past, NITI Aayog serves as the Government of India's central platform for encouraging cooperation among the States for the benefit of the nation, which promotes cooperative federalism.

Finance Commission of India

According to the Indian Constitution, a Finance Commission must be established in order to divide up certain revenue-generating resources between the Union and the State Governments. In accordance with Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India formed the Finance Commission. The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1951 governs the Commission's qualifications, authority, and operating processes. The Finance Commission was established to lay out the financial arrangements between the States and the Centre. The President creates a Finance Commission in accordance with Article 280 of the Constitution with the express goal of devolving nonplan revenue streams.

State Finance Commission

According to the 73rd constitutional amendment, the state government must nominate a Finance Commission every five years to examine the financial issues of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). In relation to; the State Finance Commission (SFC) will make recommendations.

1. The division of net proceeds from state-imposed taxes, charges, tolls, and fees that may be split between them, as well as how those proceeds would be distributed among the various panchayat levels.

2. What taxes, duties, tolls and fees may be assigned to the panchayats.

3. Grant –in-aids to the panchayats.

State Planning Boards

The primary purpose of the State Planning Boards was to support the Planning Commission in allocating resources to the states and to enable the state governments to create development plans based on an objective evaluation of their resources and the state's top growth priorities. The boards were tasked with creating an annual economic review to be presented to state legislatures with the budget document. The State Planning Boards' primary duties are:

1. To assess the resources of the state, and to prepare schemes for their effective utilisation.

2. To assist the District Planning Officers in preparing district plan proposals, so that they may be incorporated in the overall Plan.

3. To ascertain the obstacles to growth of the state economy, and to suggest measures for removing regional imbalances.

4. To monitor the progress of Plan schemes, and to suggest changes in developmental policies.

Q4. Describe the role of Media in Nation Building.

Ans) In addition to guaranteeing "Freedom of Expression," the leadership in a free India was concerned with using the media and all other forms of public education to promote the integrity and unity of the fledgling nation state and to inform, educate, and mobilise the populace in order to enlist their willing participation in the political and social development of the nation. Similar to the mixed economy approach to national growth, a mixed strategy was used in the information and broadcasting sectors.

While foreign news agencies like Reuter, AFP, etc. were prohibited and could only supply their services to Indian news agencies like Press Trust of India (PTI) and United News of India, the press was free and mostly in private hands, except from the requirement of title registration (UNI). Telecom and broadcasting remain monopolies of the federal government. Film production was once again carried out privately, although it was still required for public showings to receive approval from a central government official.

In India, the First Five Year Plan, which served as the blueprint for the country's planned growth, placed particular emphasis on the need to contact people, communicate with them, and provide them new skills. Every person will be able to connect their job to the greater goal of the country as a whole if there is a general grasp of the priorities that govern the Plan, it was stated. The public must be reached via all available means of communication, including written and spoken word as well as radio, film, song, and theatre. The people must first and foremost be given books and information in plain English on a scale appropriate to the needs of the nation. Up until 1991, a substantial policy shift that resulted in liberalisation, globalisation, and the start of the information technology revolution in the nation directed the development and expansion of the media in India. As a result of this exponential expansion and diversity, the mass media landscape was drastically altered.

India's mass media is currently free and mostly owned by the private sector. Any citizen may publish whatever they choose in a newspaper or magazine without first requesting permission from any authority, subject solely to legal responsibility for the content they choose to publish. The Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867 stipulates that a registration certificate and declaration, along with legibly printing the names of the printer, the location of printing, the publisher, and the place of publication, are the only prerequisites for publishing a newspaper or a magazine.

However, the Central Government held a monopoly over radio, television, and telecommunications until 1991, when the Supreme Court of India construed the Constitution's Fundamental Right of Freedom of Expression to include airwaves as well. Electronic media and telecommunications were extended to the private sector in the 1990s as a result of liberalisation and globalisation. As a result, mobile phones and numerous private TV channels and FM radio stations are now commonplace. It should be emphasised that even if there are numerous TV news channels, the government still has a monopoly on radio news transmission.

Q5. Explain the role of advocacy and Communication for development.

Ans) Advocacy is a dynamic set of communication strategies used to promote a cause or school of thought in order to sway the opinions and attention of individuals, groups, and authorities. The goal of advocacy in the socioeconomic, political, and development context is public welfare. Through focused advocacy, a group attempts to get the attention of the authorities, social groups, civic societies, NGOs, journalists, and other people in positions of power and influence to create new laws, policies, and regulations or amend the ones that already exist in order to improve the lives of people and enable them to adapt to the changing circumstances of the world.

Advocacy as a Means for Change

The main goal of advocacy is to improve society, especially for the lower-class, poor people who live there. Pro-poor lobbying aims to influence political outcomes, focus the attention of the authorities on those who are considered to be poor, and shed awareness on the challenges they confront.

Advocacy Approaches and Techniques

The audience or demographic that the advocacy message is aimed at should be responsive and prepared to embrace the change that is being promoted because advocacy is a two-way communication. It is crucial to have a "knowledge" of wellbeing and the suggested improvements. Advocacy frequently encounters opposition, which generally stems from political slowness, bureaucracy, and counterarguments from more powerful advocacy groups. Therefore, to be effective, advocacy must plan out and research the political lobbies, interest groups, and other essential players. For instance, government agencies, communication regulatory agencies, telecommunication service providers, industry-specific associations, media organisations, and civil society interest groups would be the primary stakeholders in issues relating to ICT regulations.

Policy Monitoring and Public Accountability

In a democratic system, policy monitoring guarantees that the government is accountable. By applying pressure to elected governments, public institutions can do this task successfully. Since the truth and administrative flaws are revealed in the reports these organisations produce, policy monitoring by advocacy groups and other institutions working for the public good promotes transparency. This puts pressure on the government to take better action and implementation. Independent research may be used as a type of policy monitoring. It could take the form of a normal analysis performed at the start of a policy by examining its goals and potential human impact. If there is a discrepancy between the execution and the plans, a follow-up study may be included to determine whether what was delivered was as promised on paper.

Policy Dialogue – ICT and Mainstream Development Policy

Civil societies frequently demand more influence on government because they see themselves as the voice of the people and want to engage in two-way dialogue with those who develop policy from the very beginning. The India Against Corruption movement, also known as the Anna Movement, is a strong and successful illustration of this. It was started to urge the government into passing the Lok Pal (Ombudsman) Act with the purpose of eradicating corruption. This group forced the Indian government to take into account their proposed Lokpal laws while enacting a law.