Press Information Bureau (PIB), the silent service provider
- November 16 – National Press Day -

S Balakrishnan *

2. BPI (later PIB) rubber stamp 1946

Press Information Bureau (PIB), a Government of India department, is 100 and not out! PIB is not popular like All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) of the same Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B).

I had not heard of its name until 1978 when an appointment order came from Staff Selection Commission (SSC) asking me to join PIB’s branch office in Port Blair (Andamans). I took it to be an intelligence/ investigative department like CBI. Well, you can’t blame me; the word ‘Bureau’ sounds authoritative and a bit scary. In fact PIB was once called CBI – Central Bureau of Information!

But in actuality it is supposed to be a friendly Bureau disseminating information about the central government, its policies/activities/programmes to the general public through the Press, i.e., print media. Hence ‘Press’ Information Bureau because, when it was started during the years of World War I (1914-1918), there was only print media (newspapers) and no TV, no web media, nor even radio!

This setup that came into existence under the Home Member of the colonial British Government was then called Central Publicity Board. Later, in June 1919, a Cell was created in the Home Department for “the distribution of correct information on all India questions” and to inform Government Departments of “particular questions on which public opinion is exercised and on which further information is needed.”

By the end of 1920, the Cell was rechristened as ‘Central Bureau of Information’ (CBI) and Dr. L.F. Rushbrook Williams, its initial head, became its Director as well. The CBI became a permanent setup on June 1, 1923 by changing its name to Bureau of Public Information. Hence 2023 was PIB’s Centenary Year!

BPI played an effective role during WW II (1939-48); in the meanwhile many developments took place – BPI’s head was changed from Director to Principal Information Officer (PIO) since 1938; Sh. J. Natarajan became its first Indian PIO in 1941; and the name BPI itself got changed to PIB in 1946. Should 2046 be PIB’s Centenary? So much for its history!

To put it simply, PIB is a government news agency providing factual information on behalf of the central government to the media, which now includes not only the print media but also electronic, web, social media, etc., totaling 8400 throughout India. With the changing times, PIB’s role has expanded vastly. It also provides feedback of the public to the government on its activities.

When I joined the Port Blair office of PIB in 1978, news material was disseminated through teleprinter (if at all it worked in that forlorn place) from our Headquarters in New Delhi to the Regional Office in Calcutta and from there to Port Blair, and also by air parcel by the weekly flight from Calcutta by which time it was too stale.

There was actually no need for a PIB office in Port Blair because no newspaper of standing was being published. Further, it was a Union Territory that functioned like an extension of the central government. As there was no work, it was very difficult to kill the time in the office and so I started my own dissemination service – writing articles. And here I am, writing about PIB itself!

Though Andamans was so exciting, the office was so boring; fighting for a transfer, I was shunted to Cuttack (Orissa/Odisha) office in 1980 where I learnt how PIB actually functioned. It was back to square one when I was shifted to Gangtok (Sikkim) in 1983; the situation was similar to Port Blair. No dailies but only the weekly Sikkim Express, and the teleprinter was as good as dead.

Only after joining the Regional Office in Madras (Chennai) in 1988 did I fully realize the value of PIB’s service. It was exciting for most part until I retired in 2018, after 40 years of service, including a bonus of two years on contract basis.

As communication facilities expanded (fax, STD, computer, e-mail, photo transmission, 24x7 private news channels, web & social media,), I also saw the decline of PIB’s usefulness. PIB is striving hard to survive by hook or by crook but surely it is no match to the quick-witted private media. The centenary year would be the right time for self-examination by PIB.

RTI - Noting side contrary to its publicity

National Press Day - The 16th of November – is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India. This was the day on which the Press Council of India started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.

Though there are several Press or Media Councils world over, the Press Council of India is a unique entity in as-much-as this is the only body to exercise an authority even over the instruments of the State in its duty to safeguard the independence of the press. November 16, therefore, personifies a responsible and free press in the country.