CAG report says missions not using publicity material targeting foreigners.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) uses a variety of channels, including distribution of print and audio-visual publicity material, to project India’s position on various international issues, developments in India, highlight aspects of Indian life, art and culture as well as to counter distorted and malicious propaganda against India, to foreign audiences.
But a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in parliament recently said 11 Indian missions abroad did not issue any book or CD to foreign audiences in the past five years.
The report said: “Of the 27 missions for which information on utilisation of books, DVDs and CDs was made available to audit, 11 with a stock of 57,538 books and 6,307 DVDs/CDs at the end of 2008-09 did not issue a single book, DVD/CD to target [foreign] audience in the past five years.”
The “missions mostly issued library publicity material to staff instead of the targeted”.
“Based on the analysis of the information supplied by the missions in the past five years, it was found that 56% of the books and 60% of the documentaries supplied by the ministry to missions for distribution/presentation to targeted foreign audiences in the past five years were lying unutilised,” the report said.
CAG noted that despite its instruction in September 2005, MEA continued to send publicity material to missions without specific requests. As a result, the material remained unutilised with the missions or the ministry, bringing about “unfruitful expenditure on their purchase and supply to missions”.
“These findings show the basic purpose underlying the dispatch of publicity material to the missions was not being achieved,” the CAG report said.
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