Primarily, Information & Culture Department is rendering following services:
The Directorate General of Public Relations, Punjab
The Directorate General of Public Relations, Punjab is the main publicity arm of the government. It essentially deals with dissemination of information and public relations. It mainly focuses on projection of governmental policies and activities through print, electronic and social media along with maintenance of close inter personal liaison with media.The first official agency for disseminating information was the information Bureau, which was formed in February, 1925. The late Nawab Muzzafar Khan was its Director. In 1938, Syed Nur Ahmad was appointed as Director. When World War II broke-out, a War Publicity Department was created in 1939 under the charge of a British I.C.S. Officer. The director of the Information Bureau maintained liaison with the press to feed them with official news. In 1945-46, the Information Bureau and the National Home Front were amalgamated with each other and a new department, designated as Directorate of Public Reactions came into being. Its Director General was Mr. Pervaiz Ismail, a senior I.C.S. Officer. The Unionist Ministry in the Punjab at that time wanted to check-mate the Muslim League Movement.The Ministry, however, dubbed it as “communalism”. They decided to utilize the Information Bureau for counteracting and checking its ever growing popularity. In August, 1947 when Pakistan came into being Syed Nur Ahmed was recalled to reorganize the Directorate. It functions as a two way clearing house of information between the government and the people. This department firstly established as Directorate in early 1940s was then up-graded as Directorate General of Public Relations, Punjab in 1984.
Awareness Campaigns
The Information & Culture Department is responsible for dissemination of information and to create awareness for general masses about the development initiatives taken by the Punjab Government in social and public sectors through media campaigns including print, electronic, social, cable TV and radio mediums. These campaigns are released under the Punjab Government (Revised) Advertisement Policy, 2012. The policy stipulates that all the government advertisements, classified, display and commercials will be routed through the Information and Culture Department / DGPR, Punjab. For this purpose, Information & Culture Department selects / prequalifies different media houses / advertising agencies. Different government departments are assigned to these media agencies for developing their media campaigns. Accordingly, the advertising agencies develop creative contents in the form of print advertisements and TVCs to be printed and released by newspapers and TV channels, respectively.
Censorship of Films
The Central Board of Film Censors was devolved by virtue of 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan and its branch office at Lahore was transferred to the Information & Culture Department, Government of the Punjab. Subsequent to fulfilling all legal formalities and procedures, Punjab Film Censor Board is now functional and working under the Administrative Control of Information & Culture Department. The Board issues censor certificate for exhibiting a foreign / local film throughout the Punjab.
Artist Welfare Fund
The Information and Culture department set up an Artists Welfare Fund with the explicit objective to provide financial help for the welfare and support of the families of the Artists, who laid down their lives while performing their professional duties. This step by Alhamra has been very welcomed by Artistes usually spend a Spartan life-style due to lack of economic support to their intellectual work and die in poverty. For the said purpose a committee has been constituted, members of the committee examine the applications and approve the funds on merit.
Welfare of the Journalist Community
In pursuant to the policy of the Government of Punjab, Information & Culture Department has taken following initiatives for the welfare of media personnel:
- Establishment of housing schemes on a no-profit no-loss basis. As yet three housing schemes have been introduced at Lahore, Rawalpindi & Multan
- Financial assistance to the deserving media personnel through Journalist Support Fund
- Hosting of national / international delegations of the journalists
- Provision of supplementary grants to media bodies / press clubs of Punjab for construction of their buildings / offices and purchase of furniture and fixture etc
Promotion of Cultural, Recreational & Literary Activities
The Culture Wing of Information & Culture Department is performing following activities aiming at promotion of art & culture in Punjab:
- Exhibition of cultural activities in the state of the art auditoriums at divisional levels
- Provision of monthly stipend to the artists / artisans in Punjab under the Artist Support Fund
- Holding of stage plays, photographic & painting exhibitions and seminars
- Airing of programs, talk shows, plays & songs in punjabi language by FM-95 "Punjab Rung", 1st Punjabi FM Radio
- Issuance of monthly punjabi magazine "Trinjan
- Participation in the foreign cultural shows
- Provision of annual grants to cultural & literary bodies working in Punjab for the promotion of art & culture
- Training courses by the Al-Hamrah Academy of performing arts
- Provision of one time financial assistance to literary personnels like poets, writers, scholars, researchers through Punjab Writers Welfare Fund