Journalists are the link between the government and the citizens

Vartalap workshop organised by PIB in city : inaugurated by Dr Bhagwat Karad

Aurangabad, Sept 24:

Journalists are the link between the government and the citizens. By working in different fields, they help in effective implementations of the schemes of the government to the grassroots level, said union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad. He addressed the inaugural session of the one-day media conference 'Vartalap' organized by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) in Aurangabad on Saturday.

The seminar was held under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The workshop was organized on the topic of 'Financial Inclusion'. Additional director general (Western Region), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Smita Vats Sharma, District collector Sunil Chavan, Commissioner (Human Development) Maharashtra State Nitin Patil, deputy director, PIB Jayadevi Pujari-Swami and other officials were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Dr Karad said that the role of journalists is very important for India to become a developed country. They should play a role in creating more awareness about the schemes for financial inclusion. The government's work for financial inclusion is based on three pillars, providing banking facilities to the unbanked, providing funds to the unfunded, and providing protection to the vulnerable. Collector Chavan appealed to journalists to play the role of vigilantes. and to give priority to bring forward the success stories which will develop a positive attitude in the society. Patil said that the PIB has brought justice to the Katkari community. PIB's nationwide publicity of tribal work allowed national companies to reach out to tribal communities directly and gain market access to them. Chief manager, Bank of Maharashtra Mangesh Kedar, senior journalist Virendra Talegaonkar and officials of the Central Bureau of Communications, Doordarshan and Akashvani exchanged their views. Beneficiaries of PM-Swanidhi Yojana Abdul Aqeel Karim Deshmukh, Vidya Vijay Rupekar and Sheikh Munir Ismail were present on the occasion.

Contribution of media in rural development

Additional DG Smita Vats Sharma, guided on the topic of contribution of media in rural areas to development dialogue and how PIB can help media for public service. She appealed to the journalists to convey information regarding financial inclusion to the public. Issues of digital transactions, financial literacy and financial inclusion need to be addressed.