A twenty-member team of accredited journalists and officials of IPR Department travelling to Aizawl, Mizoram, was sent off from Sikkim Nationalised Transport complex here in the capital today. The SNT bus ferrying the team to NJP railway station was flagged off by Press Advisor to the Chief Minister, C.P. Sharma, in the presence of Political Secretary to HCM, Jacob Khaling, and Director, IPR Department, Benu Gurung.
This is the first batch of journalists being facilitated for the Media Fellowship Scheme initiated by the Government. The team would be attending a short-term media course at Indian Institute of Mass Communication – North East Region Campus in Aizawl, Mizoram from 9th to 13th January, 2023. The IIMC is a reputed centre for media education and training and has over the years evolved as a premier Institute for media studies, with special focus on journalism. It is an autonomous society under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, with campuses in different parts of the country.
The media fellowship programme is a new initiative of the Government wherein journalists would be sent for outstation training and capacity building to reputed Institutions. The scheme was announced by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang last year and had received wide appreciation from the media fraternity in the State. The fellowship programme will be a calendar activity of the Government and a dedicated annual budget is earmarked for the scheme under the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Sikkim. The entire cost of the training, including travel and other logistics, will be borne by the State Government.
The team is led by District Information Officer, Gangtok district, Dependra Sharma, along with President, Press Club of Sikkim, Shekhar Khawas. The team comprises of fifteen accredited journalists and five officials of the IPR Department.
Speaking on the occasion, Press Advisor to HCM, C.P. Sharma said that it was a good beginning to the year and wished the team of journalists and IPR officials a fruitful training in Aizawl. He thanked the Chief Minister for providing an opportunity to the journalists to build their capacity and achieve further growth in their profession.
Political Secretary to HCM, Jacob Khaling said that the media fellowship programme is an initiative of the Chief Minister with the aim to empower the journalists of Sikkim and make them capable of exploring avenues even at the regional and national level. He said that it is an acknowledgement of the important role of journalists in the development of the State and the nation.
Likewise, Director, IPR Department, Benu Gurung briefly highlighted about the media fellowship programme and added that it would be a regular feature in the activity of the department. She informed that the Department is already planning for the next batch of training.
