Highlight problems of weaker section: Prez to trainee officers

President Pranab Mukherjee today urged government officials to strive to highlight issues affecting the weaker and marginalised sections of the society, particularly those in rural areas.
Mukherjee said this while interacting with a group of trainee officers of the Indian Information Service (IIS) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Addressing the officers, the President said the vast opportunity and career in government offers them to serve the people unlike any other profession.
He told the officers that wherever they serve, they should try to "spotlight the issues affecting the weaker and marginalised sections of the society, particularly in rural areas."
Mukherjee told them that they now embark into the service of the nation by functioning as a "crucial link between the people and the government" through disseminating information on government policies and programmes, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said.

The President, the spokesperson said, told the officers that they will be serving in different organisations of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which are mandated to reach out to all sections of society through various means of communication.

The President also called upon them to harness the technological innovations in communication and media and "always keep themselves updated".
"The discovery of Internet, use of mobile phones for various activities, social and digital media has completely transformed the old tools of communication," he said.
The President urged them to keep pace with technological innovations in order to be more effective in communicating the government policies and programmes to the people.

The IIS officers are presently undergoing training at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in the national capital.