PIB marks centennial anniversary

IN NOVEMBER 2019, PIB ESTABLISHED A FACT CHECK UNIT TO TACKLE FAKE NEWS PERTAINING TO THE GOVT

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), the nodal agency of the Indian government to disseminate information, marked its centennial anniversary on Thursday.

Set up as a temporary cell under the home ministry of the then British government in Shimla in June 1919, its primary task at the time was to prepare an annual report on India for presentation to the British Parliament. The first head of the cell was Dr LF Rushbrook Williams of Allahabad University who was designated as officer on special duty.

Towards the end of 1920, the cell became the Central Bureau of Information and on June 1, 1923, the bureau was formalised and made permanent as the Bureau of Public Information.

In 1941, J Natrajan became the first Indian to head the bureau as principal information officer. The organisation’s name was changed to the Press Information Bureau in 1946. It was reconstituted several times since 1947 and is currently led by Rajesh Malhotra.

Former PIB chief Jaideep Bhatnagar said that over the years, the agency has not just effectively disseminated information on government policies, but also helped promote various programmes and initiatives. “New technologies like UPI were promoted by PIB.

Now, digital payments are used regularly by the people,” he said.

“PIB has also worked with consistency on the PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) which has been a success,” he added.

In 2019, PIB established the FCU to tackle fake news pertaining to the government and its organisations.

“Throughout its existence, PIB has played a crucial role in providing accurate and timely information to the public and the media,” a PIB official said.

PIB disseminates information through different modes of communication such as press releases and factsheets, and also through social media.

The information is released in English, Hindi and Urdu and subsequently translated in other Indian languages to reach out to about 8,400 newspapers and media organisations in different parts of the country, its website said.