Monalisa Changkija
I never cease to amaze at the way the Directorate of Audio & Visual Publicity, (DAVP) Government of India, New Delhi, has been functioning for well nigh 60 years. For the uninitiated this is the publicity wing of the Government of India, which can be likened to the Nagaland Government’s Directorate of Information & Public Relations. And this is the Central Government’s channel through which advertisements of all Union Ministries and Departments are issued to the print and electronic media, which are empanelled with it, across the country, and sometimes abroad. So the DAVP deals daily with lakhs of English and various vernacular newspapers and magazines, as also hundreds of television channels, across the country. As you might have noticed, only two newspapers of Nagaland are empanelled with the DAVP --- Nagaland Post and Nagaland Page --- and the smooth issuance of advertisements of Union Ministries and Departments through their website, which we download, and sometimes directly on email, is a very happy experience for us. Imagine, how convenient it is for small newspapers like ours in the backwaters of this vast country! The same is the case with newspapers and magazines throughout the country that are empanelled with the DAVP.
Yes, technology has indeed made connectivity easier but even before technology reached the present advanced stage, the DAVP has been issuing advertisements to lakhs of newspapers and magazines across the country. This clearly indicates that technology by itself is not enough --- the man behind the machine is more important.
Besides issuing advertisements, the DAVP also remits payments for the advertisements to lakhs of newspapers and magazines. Sometimes the payments could be delayed but more often than not it is on time and regular. Some of the payments for advertisements are made directly to our Bank accounts through core banking and sometimes through drafts but never through cheques. This means you will never find any newspaper and magazine representative hanging around Central Government Ministries and Departments for payments.
Last year, the DAVP directed us to open accounts in any State Bank of India Branch, which has core-banking facilities and ever since, our payments come directly to our accounts. Inarguably, it’s not technology alone but some very committed and sincere people working to ensure that newspapers and magazines do not suffer on account of non-payment of advertisement bills. There are also others aspects to this commitment and sincerity. All Ministries and Departments have very clear-cut and specific budgets for advertisements and no doubts should arise during audits. Moreover, no Government at the Centre can afford to have the country’s newspapers and magazines, as also television channels, publicly criticizing it for its inability to streamline payments for advertisements. After all, Indians discovered the 0 (zero).
The system is so well streamlined that the DAVP even sends us printed bill formats for each advertisement, which we fill up and send back to them. Yes, all Central Government Ministries and Departments submit both advertisements and payments to the DAVP, which distributes the same to lakhs of newspapers and magazines. Now, just imagine the number of Central Ministries and Departments, as also their numerous wings and sections, submitting advertisements and payments to lakhs of newspapers and magazines across the country. This must definitely mean that not only a system has been worked on and streamlined but there are also people who are thoroughly focused on making this system work like clockwork. These are the people we must salute because they have not become slaves of the system but are proving to be the masters of the system.
Now juxtapose the DAVP’s smooth functioning with that of our State Government Departments. There are only a handful local newspapers that are issued Government advertisements and it seems to be such a painful process for our Government Departments despite the fact that today any newspaper in Nagaland has internet connectivity, not to mention the fact that three of our papers --- Nagaland Post, Nagaland Page and The Morung Express --- also have online editions. And all phones numbers, email IDs and website addresses are clearly published on every issue. Ignorance cannot be any excuse or justification because our State Government has done much to introduce e-governance and now we also have a full-fledged Department of Information Technology.
At the moment, the issuance of advertisements by our State Government Departments is anything but happy and the less said about payments the better. However, it must be underscored that our State Government has sincerely endeavoured to streamline the issuance of advertisements to the local newspapers but because a proper system was not put in place, things are still very topsy-turvy. Last year, the State Government directed all Government Departments and agencies to issue advertisements to local papers through the state DIPR but nothing was mentioned about failure to follow this directive hence some Government Departments and Agencies issue their advertisements directly and more often than not only to a couple of newspapers --- probably only to the ones the Boss reads. Moreover, the State Government also failed to mention in its directive that payments for advertisements should also be remitted to the DIPR, which would then remit the same to the local newspapers. If we apply our mind, it is possible for us to work out a system that would be convenient and full proof for everyone concerned.
Our State Government Departments must understand and appreciate the realities of newspapers here. And the first thing they must know is the newspapers are not the publicity wings of Government Departments and agencies --- and that newspapers do not survive on love and fresh air. More so, newspapers cannot function on the whims and fancies of the Accounts Officer/Accountant/Cashier of any Department.
This I can say, and can provide greater details too, because I regularly submit advertisement bills to various Departments and I also collect payments for the same. A lot of senior Government functionaries ask me why do I do so and why don’t I hire someone to do what I do. I submit advertisement bills and collect payments because I am the Proprietor, Publisher and Editor of my newspaper --- it is my job. Entrusting somebody with money matters has been the downfall of many a business started by our people. We must learn from other people’s mistake. I also learn from my own. I did hire people before but it didn’t work out. I save money and heartaches by doing my own job. But most importantly, nothing gives me more satisfaction than collecting the money my newspaper has earned however humble the amount. Why should I be ashamed of collecting legitimate payments? Moreover, I don’t have ego problems and I am not status or whatever conscious. I am merely a working-woman and I do my job so why shouldn’t I also collect my payments?
I think if our people were less status conscious and had a more realistic sense of self, we might achieve more than our aspirations. And of course, I think it is great for me to go to numerous Government offices, find out how tightly a Boss keeps his/her ship, meet the people who man our Government offices, make friends with them, listen to their loves, hates, opinions and their normal concerns and understand them better. I also get round to meeting long lost friends. And who knows, one day I may write a book about how our Government offices function curried with little anecdotes about the people who work in them, or who are always on leave or on duty or wherever but in office.
Now, why am I writing all this?
I believe that we can work out an issuance of advertisements and payments thereof system that can work but this would need inputs from people who make newspapers work. I also believe we have people in Government employment who can be masters of the system, not slaves to it. I know a couple of them in the state DIPR.
I believe that people who snigger at me for the job I do are totally ignorant of the fact that I form their children’s opinions and have their minds not only through my newspaper but also through my poetry, which they study in University and School. Moreover, people who snigger at other people’s work have no respect for their own --- that is if they do any work at all.
I also write this to share a little information about the influence of small newspapers. You remember the ‘India Shinning’ advertisements the Vajpayee Government launched in all the big newspapers and television channels just before the last parliamentary elections? Well, rumour has it that the Congress Party decided to go for the small regional, especially vernacular, newspapers across India to carry out their election campaign. The Congress Party also realized that they reached a greater number of people at a lesser cost --- small newspapers charge less for advertisements, in case you didn’t know. And it paid off and Sonia is now the reigning Queen of India. Realizing the importance and influence of small newspapers, the present Government at the Centre has introduced a number of changes that help to decrease the gap between the big and small newspapers. It’s not just a question of money but strengthening the media at the grass root level has also strengthened democracy, without which development would remain lop-sided.
All this, we will understand better only if we take the trouble to learn why we create systems and operate them --- in fact, why the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Executive and the Fourth Estate are foundational to democracy.
