Information Department in for an image makeover

The state government is all set to reorganise the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).

A six-member committee headed by former bureaucrat M.R. Srinivasamurthy submitted its 100-page report and recommendations to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday. The committee was constituted by the government to study the reorganisation of DIPR.

Accepting the report, Mr. Siddaramaiah directed DIPR secretary M. Lakshminarayana to submit a proposal based on the recommendations. After getting approval from the Cabinet, DIPR would be reorganised, he said. Asking DIPR to work more effectively, the Chief Minister directed authorities to accord more publicity to the development works taken up by the government.

According to official sources, for the first time, an attempt is being made to reorganise DIPR to suit the changing scenario. The report, which analysed the work being carried out by various wings of DIPR, has made suggestions on the ways to improve their potential with little or no financial burden.

Suggesting the government to link all the 38 departments to DIPR to publicise their programmes, the report is learnt to have also recommended that the department function more on the lines of a public relations platform. The stress is on projecting Karnataka outside the State, especially in the national capital, and making best use of visual media to reach the government programmes and improve its image, sources explained.