MIB holds national conference to strengthen Centre-State media coordination

New Delhi: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) held a national conference with Information and Public Relations Secretaries from States and Union Territories in New Delhi on Tuesday, seeking to strengthen Centre-State coordination across media, broadcasting, public communication and India’s creative economy.

Secretary, MIB, Chanchal Kumar chaired the conference, which brought together senior officials to discuss initiatives aimed at expanding the country’s creative ecosystem and improving collaboration between the Centre and States.

Kumar highlighted the government’s focus on India’s soft power and creative economy under the Prime Minister’s Saptdhara vision, and said closer cooperation would be important to unlock the sector’s potential to generate jobs, attract investment and strengthen India’s global influence.

He also stressed that States and UTs would need to develop approaches suited to their own cultural strengths, talent pools and institutional capabilities rather than follow a single model for growing the creative economy.

The discussions focused on areas including infrastructure, ease of doing business, capacity building, regional content and the development of local creative ecosystems. National platforms such as WAVES 2027, WAVES Bazaar, WaveX and the Create in India Challenges were highlighted as potential avenues for creators and start-ups to access markets, investors, technology and international partnerships.

A major part of the conference focused on the roadmap for WAVES 2027 and strengthening WAVES Bazaar’s role in providing market access. Officials also discussed promoting user-generated creative content on the Waves OTT platform and expanding opportunities for States to participate in the wider creative economy.

The meeting also examined the two-way integration of the Indian Cine Hub (ICH) and Film Facilitation Office (FFO) portals, alongside the adoption of the single-window ICH portal for permissions related to film shoots and live events.

Public Service Broadcasting was another key area of discussion. The Ministry explored content co-production, State-specific programming, stronger public outreach and expansion of broadcasting infrastructure.

The live events sector also featured prominently, with discussions around its promotion and the need to create a more supportive ecosystem for events across States and UTs.

Officials discussed capacity building for District Information and Public Relations (DIPR) officers through Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) training facilities. The conference also covered the transition to the digital framework under the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Act, 2023, through the Press Sewa Portal.

State and UT officials shared their experiences and concerns around implementing various initiatives and called for greater support from the Ministry through regular engagement, communication and capacity-building programmes.

The officials also expressed their willingness to collaborate more closely with the Centre to strengthen India’s Orange Economy, which brings together creative and cultural industries with commercial opportunities.

Kumar called for stronger coordination between PIB regional offices, State Information and Public Relations departments, and regional units of Doordarshan and Akashvani. He emphasised the importance of developing State-specific content and outreach while encouraging States to propose new ideas and partnership models.

The conference also touched on strengthening libraries through the supply of books to State Governments under the Samagra Shiksha framework.

The meeting signals a broader push by the Ministry to make India’s creative economy more collaborative and regionally connected, with WAVES 2027, film facilitation, live events and public broadcasting emerging as key pillars of the Centre-State roadmap.