Speech of Hon'ble Chief Minister, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal delivered in the North Zone Conference on Importance of Public Relations and Media in Governance organized by Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) Shimla Chapter at Peterhoff, Shimla on 12 July, 2008.

            It is indeed a matter of pleasure for me to be with you on the occasion of two-day Northern Region Conference on 'Importance of Public Relations and Media in Good Governance' organized by the Public Relations Society of India, Shimla Chapter.

At the very outset, I extend my heartfelt felicitation to all the members of Public Relations Society of India on its Golden Jubilee and wish them all success in their endeavours. Fifty years is not a small period for the existence of any Organization. Credit for it goes to those who have steered it from time to time during all these years.

I also congratulate the team of Shimla Chapter of PRSI for organizing this Conference in Shimla, thereby giving an opportunity to PR professionals and practitioners to come to Shimla and deliberate on the subject which is timely and important as Governance concern to all of us. Shimla has its glorious past. It remained ' Summer Capital of the Colonial India. It also remained Centre for the leaders of freedom movement to chalk out strategies for the freedom of the Country. The Shimla-Pak Agreement was also signed here. Today, it is not only capital of Himachal Pradesh but is also known as queen of the hills all over the World. I welcome you all here on behalf of the people of the State especially those who have covered long distance to participate in this Conference.

The theme of the Conference is timely and important as effective Governance in the democratic set up is must to deliver the goods. The term Governance and Good Governance are buzz words and increasingly being used in developmental term now-a-days. Governance describes the process of decision making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented. Public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Good Governance accomplishes this in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for the rule of law. Thus, Good Governance defines an ideal, which is difficult to achieve in totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal. As I understand, Good Governance covers participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus orientation, equality, inclusiveness, effectiveness, efficiency and accountability.

Friends, there is a far greater focus on Governance at grass root level. Since Independence, numerous governments have made efforts to bring about rapid and sustainable development and socio-economic transformation in rural India with an integrated approach towards improving the quality of life of rural poor and ensuring effective people's participation. Any strategy for rural development must involve the people themselves and their institutions. The need for revitalizing Panchayati Raj institutions has therefore, been recognized as an instrument for participatory planning and implementation of various development programmes at grass root level.

We all know, Media has played an important role in freedom movement and there after, also in the Nation's building. Even today, Media is playing a lead role in the process of making this society-a knowledgeable. The role of media to reach the masses for any Government or Organization is all the more important but today media is unfortunately preoccupied with political issues whereas the Nation's need is developmental politics. The need of the hour is that Media should take up various missions such as developed India, Promoting an enlighten society ensuring that all reporting is analysed, evaluated and researched prior to publication.

In today’s World, with unprecedented improvement in the field of science and technology, Media has become almost as necessary as food and clothing. Media's role in strengthening the fabric of our society, transcending the barriers of religion, language, caste and sex is all the more important.

Information media has become an indispensable part of modern democracies. Communication Media is important socializing agent. The press, radio and television are among the most important of the opinion moulding and opinion reflecting agencies. Thus the role of Media in Good Governance is all the more significant. My submission is that Media should disseminate the information in right perspective and give proper feed back so it helps in responsive and good governance.

In the same manner, the role of public relations is equally important in this competitive world. The prime responsibility of Public Relations can be seen as interpreting the Organization to the public and vice versa. But public relations, from merely creating a favourable climate, has now attained the status of specialized profession of Communication Management. It is a sustained and deliberate exercise with the primary objective to enable and enhance Corporate Communication. The problem today is that relationship building is not enough. For a relationship to be meaningful, it has to be founded on mutual trust and understanding. Moreover, “relationship building" as a term and as a concept, falls short when the situational dynamic is one of acrimony, miscommunication and conflict.

The 21^st century management mindset goes by many names such as Corporate-Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable development. The concept of Governance is as old as human civilization. As I have stated earlier, " Governance " means the process of decision making and the process by which decision are implemented or not implemented. Governance can be used in several context such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. Good governance is about achieving desired results in the right way. People's faith in democracy rests upon the confidence of the common man in the capacity, credibility and effectiveness of the system of governance. The greater the access of the citizens to information, the greater the responsiveness of the Governance to community needs.

Without freedom of expression and media freedom, democracy can not prevail and development remains unattainable. Independent, free and pluralist media have a crucial role to play in the good governance of democratic society ensuring transparency and acceptability promoting participation and the rule of law and contributing to the fight against social un-equalities and evils. Not only free and independent media act as a guardian of human rights and watchdog against abuses by authority but also provide citizens with the information they require to exercise their democratic rights. The media also disseminate information that is crucial for the life and development of communities. Right to Information is a major step towards ensuring a participatory developmental process in the Country. For the law to be truly effective, it will need the active participation of the community at large, including non-government organizations (NGO's) and the press.

One of the important elements of the effective governance is transparency. Transparency is not only required in government but also in industrial and other enterprises. It is in that context, that the word Corporate Governance has assumed significance. We must understand the Corporate Management and Corporate Governance. Corporate Management refers to the use of human resources and time to get best possible results in terms of profit, market capitalization by an enterprises. On the other hand, Corporate Governance refers to the moral framework, the value framework and ethical framework under which business enterprises take decisions.

There is a close relation between the concept of transparency, governance and public relations. Transparency is a part of governance and public relations is an exercise in effective and proper communication. 'Swaraj' can be attained by educating the masses to a sense of their capacity to regulate and control authority. The role of Public Relations and Communications in it, is paramount. The Public Relations practitioners and professionals need to stand committed in empowering people through the tree flow of ideas and by access to information and knowledge and communication technologies. PR practitioner can make fundamental difference by facilitating the emergence of collective leadership in their own organization.

I have been told that one session in this Conference has been devoted for Corporate Social Responsibility. This is really appreciable as the Corporate Social Responsibility is must in the interest of public interest. Globalization and development of new market economy in the last decade or so have brought the global multinationals and investment houses to India for competing in domestic and international market.

There is profound interest in India and its potential for investments with a view to maximizing profits in all sectors, while profit and maximizing investment returns remain the central goal of all Corporate endeavours world wide, there is a need to fundamentally re-examine it in the light of the important role played by multinationals in the world economy. The role of multinationals and Corporates in India and elsewhere should not be differentiated as far as Corporate Social Responsibility is concerned. While there could be a margin of appreciation for the argument that such practices have to evolve over time in the domestic corporate sector, the fundamental notion that Corporates ought to conduct their business practices in a socially responsible manner can not be questioned.

There are three important dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility that need to be understood. One, responsible conduct of Corporates vis-a-vis their employers good workplace environment and sound human resource policies. Second, is Ethics in business and Corporate governance. There is a need to ensure that Ethics and Corporate Governance become an essential part of Corporate culture. The third and probably the least developed aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility is the contribution of Corporates to the Society in which they operate. Corporates, hence should make conscious efforts to become socially responsible, recognizing that the role and functions they perform inevitably have an impact on Society. Since they have assumed a greater role in the present era of liberalization, it is not possible for them to shy away from assuming different types of responsibilities of public interests. I hope all these issues will be discussed in this Conference and you being a great communicator, the message will percolate every nook and corner of the Country.

We in Himachal Pradesh have taken a decision in principal to involve the Public and Private Sectors in harnessing the immense hydel, tourism and industrial potential available in the State. State has identified hydel potential of about 22000 MW, out of which nearly 7000 MW have been harnessed so far. Govt. intends to harness the remaining potential speedily in the larger interest of the development of the State and also energy requirements of the country.

There is vast scope for tourism development as nature has bestowed beauty and grandeur on it. State has varied type of climate, peaceful and pollution free environment. We are also giving priority for setting up of pollution free, eco- friendly and employment oriented industries in the State. We would like the Corporates to come here and invest in these sectors. Himachal Pradesh has some added advantages which entrepreneurs do not find elsewhere. These include low cost and abundant supply of electricity, peaceful and dust free environment.

With these few words, I once again congratulate the PRSI, Shimla Chapter to organize this Conference and wish it a success.