CHAPTER 1

The Meaning of PR:

A Literary Review

\_The British Institute

~--
-...__..,.~ ~.-~
of Public Relations defines PR practice as
a "deliber ate, planned and sustained effort to establis h and
maintai11 mutual understanding between an organisation and
public. "(The Dutch Association defines PR as "the systematic
promtfii on of mutual understanding between an organisation and
its public ". The author of the book ' Practical PR', Pitman defines
PR as "the establis hment of two-way com,n.unication to resolve
conflicts of interest and the establishment of understanding based
on truth, knowledge and full information ". The author of the PR
News, New Yor k, Denn y Gris\vo ld define s PR as ··11te
manage ment f unction which evaluates public attitudes, ident~fies
the policies o_f an organisation and plans and executes a
program me of action to earn p ublic understanding and
accepta nce".
 PR and Media Relations
2
. Bernays, PR is tt,e attempt to _en~ineer
According to Edward L. . . se move ment or instit ution by
n acllvlty, cau ,
public support fior a. d d. tment. Herbert M.. Baus defines
. uasion an a yus
information ~e~s hilosophy, sociology, econo mics, langu age
PR as comb~mng pl. munic ation s and other discip lines
ourna ism, com .
psycho1ogy, 1 d tandi ng In their book Effect1ve
;~~!:
. t of human un ers ·
;:1::o ns, Scot M. Cutlip and Al_len H. C~te r obser ved
that "communications and interpretation o( ide~s from . an
. tz·tution to its publics and the comm unica tzon of znformat~on,
ms
ideas and opinions from those publi cs to t h e z~stz. ·1 (
u ~on, z
n a
sincere effort to establish harmonious relat ionsh ip an~ ~
mutuality of interest between the institution and its comm unzty .

Frank Jefkins, in his book, PR in World Mark eting , writes that

PR means what it says- relati ons with the public. It is practically
self-defining. It aims to create and maintain conf idenc e-a system
of communication to create goodwill. It produces that intangible
quality or asse t-.good will- and earns credit for achievements.
Renowned market researcher Marks K. Adler points out that
PR's objective is not to sell a product, but to produce a favourable
image of a company and impr~ve on it.

The International Public Relations Association (IPRA), in its

declaration, maintained that PR is a management function of a
continuing and planned character, through whic h publi c and
private organisations seek to win and retain the understanding,
sympathy and support of those with whom they are-- or may be
concerned by evaluating public opinion ·about themselves in order
to correlate , as far as poss1'ble, theu
· own pohc1
. .es and proce
' dures
to achie. ve by planne d an d w1·aespre . matio . n, more'
ad infor
productive cooperation and more efficient fulfilment of their
common interests.

According to an official text of the Ministry of Information of

 Chapter 1: Meaning of PR: Review of Literature 3

the French Govcrnme nt th.at appeared in the Journal Officil de la

Republic Francaise - the official gazette of the French
govemment- " the duties of PR practitioner, whether he or she
belongs to the staff of a firm or is an independe nt consultant, are
to devise and submit to the firms or organisatio ns employing his
or her service, the means of establishin g and maintainin g good
relations, based on mutual confidence, with the public and keeping
it informed of their achievements and, more generally, of all
matters relating to their operations ." These duties may also be
extended to include the relations of firms with their own staff. A
PR practitione r is responsible for implementing the recommended
policy and for measuring the results.

The British definition was accepted in 1969 by a select committee

of the House of Commons set up to consider the Declaration of
Members' Interests, when a deputation of the British Institute of
PR headed by Herbert Lloyd gave evidence before it.

According to Baldeo Sahai, PR in the public sector helps to

create awareness of the difficulties that have bedevilled the public
sector, thus accelerating the process of decision-making at the
authoritati ve level. Once awareness is created, problems
pinpointed and solutions suggested at various forums , the
likelihood of introducin g improvements sooner than later is
greater.

G .K. Puri poin ted out that the need for PR in public sector
enterprises is great as they are always in the public eye. It is the
lack of PR that their achieven1ents do not attract the public's
attention, while its weaknesse s always lead to a lot of public
criticism.

Allen H. Ce nter defines PR as creating belongingness and \Vinning

employees ' cooperation, · building goodwill, furthering n1utual
4 PR and Media Relations

interest and over comi ng publ ic misc o,i~ce ption s. Sushil

Bahl
defines PR as a systemati c approach to solve prob lems. It invol
ves
creatine an understanding between the organisation and the la:rgeJ
audi en;e, with the objec tive of building good will and .a
good
de,
image. Bahl adds that PR is no long er a gin-a nd-tonic briga
s.
it is an investment in good comm unic ation s and re latio nship

ce of
According to Rita Bhimani, PR is the art and socia l scien
analy sing trends, pred ictin g their cons equences, coun selli
ng
es of
organisation leaders and impl emen ting plan ned prog ramm
action that serve both the organisation and the public.

ce
J.M. Kaul defines PR as an appl ied social and beha viour al scien
that measures, evaluates and interprets the attitudes ofthe relev
.am
ased
public, assists manageme nt in defin ing obje ctive s for incre 1
ion s
publ ic unde rstan ding and acce ptance of the or-ganisar
s
products, plan s, polic ies and pers onnel, equa tes these obje ctive
and
with the interests, needs and goal s of the relev ant p ublic.,
develops, executes and evaluates a prog ramm e tn .earn puil
ic
understanding and acceptance.

ic
According to Samar Basu, PR is the attem pt to engi neer publ
supp ort for an activ ity, caus e, movemen t or msti tutio n
by
information, persuasion and adjus tment.

Frank Jefkins defines PR as consistin g of all form s ~f p larJi

e:.~
::ioJ.
comm unic ation -outw ard and inwa rd--b etwee:n an Or<:?.arii.sa
s
and the public for the purp ose of achi eving spec ific '""CF~iac:fve
concerning mutu al understanding.

tn·
The first conference on PR in the public 's ector ~'.'aS 0..-z2.i-:i..~
the Bure au of Public Ente rpris es (BPE ) in June 1967 -:to di.
~
~
the role and responsibi lity o f PR organ isations. A! ·that co n£
it was found that top mana gement was --not fully aln~ m ·me
 Chapter 1: Meaning of PR: Review of Literature 5

need and importance of PR, and PR personnel did not have rea~y
access to the chief executive officers of their company nor did
they get proper response and fair treatment from the managem~t."
Soon after, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertaki~gs
(COPU) showed interest in PR and publicity and in its ~7th
Report to the 6th Lok Sabha, presented a report on the subJect
to Parliament Among many others, the COPU Report recommen-
ded the appointment of an expert committee to go into the question
of the function and responsibilities of PR practitioners in the
public sector.

The Second Conference on the 'Importance of PR in the Public

Sector' was organised by the BPE in June 1969. This conference
emphasised the importance of PR and wanted PSUs to define the
duties of PR personnel. At that time, PR was considered a fire-
fighting service. Whenever there was some problem like an
accident or an impending strike, PR was summoned, given a
handout and asked to have it printed in newspapers and magazines.
In many cases the PROs were given charge of guest houses and
transport, among other miscellaneous activities not connected
with PR. That was the period when it was struggling to define
what is PR, what its objectives should be, what functions it
should perform and what relationship it should have with the
management.

Tue initiative for organising the third and fourth PR conference

was taken jointly by the ministry of information & broadcasting,
BPE and SCOPE in 1973 and in 1979. PR managers were still
asking for an opportunity to be associated with the process of
decision-making. The conferences made many recommendations
and forwarded the proceedings to the government of India, BPE
and SCOPE for implementation. One of the recomn1endations
was that Inter-Media Publicity Coordination Committees should
be revitalised and state-level coordination committees comprising
 ~ RetatJOOS
S PR and"
,...1"tor PR officers a:nd ot'fid~i "' Of, ~-
. .....
. "' f pub111~ ::-c'- - \.1.{ ~

representatnres (~ . ~ - , t up· . It reconuneth.k--d that the-~ ,, (l1e

" 1C'(.i1a unit~ se . . -- ~ - . Sbt\\i ~
go\·emrnent n - l centre cons1shng ot_ medm htads ~J'\~ .~

~ . t,odv at tJ 1e - . _ ~ «-1 ~ :\
be an apex ., " u
- -
l d nieet at least nvtce a year fo . ~
,. . _ tiyes that sho - _ . ._ t in;_~,
rep~~enrn . -. - It also felt the need for tniparting tira.iniri-, ,_
media coord1nauon. . -- f-~BPE - ~~ {i_)

. __ 1- SCOPE ,,rith the help o _· _ ,i'. \Vas tl~ke~ _

PR profess1ona s. · ·. . _ . . . -_ ~ tti
. .. _. t set up an 1nstttute to 1n1part tnun1ng 1n PR, ,u,..
m1t1ate acuon o - - .. - Pub .
April 19 g7, SCOPE asked the _t?r Foi_:un
Ent~!J)riSCl !1c
(FOPE) to study the 'Role of PR ·Officer~ tn Pubhc Enter-pn~~'-
The report, given in 1988, reconm1ended that BP~, _SCOPE and
the Public Relations Society of India (PRS I) should JOtntly ptt1)S_~
a PR plan to improve the image of the public sector.

The PR conference held by the PRSI in Ne,v Delhi in 196$

adopted a 'code of ethics for PR practitio ners' based on the
'code of Athens', an internationally accepted code of ethics for
PR practitioners that was adopted by the International Pubht
Relations Associations Council at its 1965 meeting._ at Athen~
April 21 is observed as National PR Day in India every year,

The report of PRSI of 1991 says that the India Foundation for
PR Education & Research (IFPR) \Vas register ed as a trust by the
PRSI ~o provide an academic and professi onal base for PR_
1
education and training. The IFPR has brought out a senes .°'
mono~aphs authored by senior PR profess ionals undcr _irs
· . . . t· 1-•·idtt~
. _. papers· senes, conta1n1ng case studies o ,e. · ..,
profess1onal
organisations that have h . d _,,..~-tt\'~•
er enlarged the acadern1c an ft'S'.
f- urt

.
base of PR m India.
 CHAPTER 2

•
History of PR 1n India

Public relations has a relatively short history, and a

very long
wars are
way to go. The First World War showed the wor ld that
ds and
fought not only with arms and ammunitions, but with wor
ness men ,
ideas as well . All kind of grou ps- whe ther busi
idea that
institutions or orga nisa tion s-ha ve become used to the
they were
the public can, perhaps, be harnessed to their cause, as
taug ht
during the war to the national cause. The First World War
us the lesson of propaganda.

as old as
The three elements of public relations are prac tical ly
society. The y are
(a) Informing people.
(b) Persuading people.
(c) Integrating people~
term
If we look at the history of the Unit ed States, whe re the
of the
' Public Rela tion s' originated, we find that the leaders
p ublic
Ame rica n Rev olut ion reco gnis ed the imp orta nce of
spap ers,
relations in crea ting a new society. The y · used new
 PR and Media Relations
8

.ll s pam1,hl cts, speec hes, songs, plays , meetings

h db
amn on1str~tion s to mobili se public opinion in favour of ind~d
de -yi;;.fl.
dencc.

H is not as if PR suddenly found takers after the ~eregulahon and

dismantling of the control structure of the Ind1an economy in
1990-91 , as some recent ~ntrants ~o PR w~uld like to believe.
The Indian economy remained a mixed one 1n which the priva
sector and the public sector coexist ed, thrived and contributed :
national development long after indepen dence. PR in the ~
has been used as an inform ation and publici ty tool of the
government, as an instrument of accountability in the public sector,
and as a supporting activity for advertising, marketing and liaison
with the government in case of the private sector.

The history of PR in India can be divided into three broad phases:

I . The era of propag anda.
2. The era of publicity.
3. Modem public relation s:,
,I

Each of these phases had a definite commu nicatio n objective. In

the propag anda phase, religious leaders like Mahavira, the apostle
of Jainism , Gautam a Buddh a, the founde r of Buddhis m,
Sankaracharya, the Hindu philosopher, and Guru Nanak, the father
of Sikhism , attemp ted to win followe rs to their respective fai~"
The rulers of yestery ear, from the Mauray ans, and the Mughl'5
. e~ .
to the East India Compa ny, used propag anda techn1q~ ~ n.1
. . . s ot rnetr
preserv e thetr rule and keep an eye on the 1ntngue
enemie s.)

. · le
If we look at Indian history, rulers dealt with peoP __wroug h
tin¢-·
public relations in one fonn or the other even in ancie: bt !ikf
Ashoka, the benevolent king, once said, ··The king sh~u ubie!ts,
.
a father." lb1s was PR to gain the goodw1·11 f btS s J ° ·
 Chaptef 2: HJStory of PR in ·kldia 9

woon1 he treated like his own children.

In one sense, public relations involves an old and si mple pohtica1

instinct. A warrior king leading an army, a pohhcian running for
election, a tnen.:hsnt preparing a deal, a woman looking for a
suitor-all involve some kind of public relations activity.

Ihe second stage in the history of PR the era of publicity~began

when Queen Victoria took charge of the Indian administration in
1858, after the great revolt by Indian soldiers. The British
Govemmeni through their viceroys, for the first time became
in,-olved in communication by developing a rapport with
newspapers. The establishment of the Editors ' Room in I 858,
and the institution of the post of First Press Commissioner in
1880 \Vere milestones in the publicity machinery that made
available government infonnation to the people through the printed
word. The formation of publicity boards during the First World
War (1914-1918) , and the Directorate of Information &
Broadcasting during the Second World War (1939-1945) were
some of the important developments for the purpose of war
publicity.

The history of public relations in India dates back to the Se-c ond
\Vorld \Var. The British government, geared to its programme of
the successful prosecution of the war, was keen to mobilise public
resources in terms of men, material and money and boosting the
morale of the Indian people at ·large. It launched a massive
campaign to collect funds, to attract Indians to the armed forces,
and to raise the morale of a subject nation, then in the midst of
the nationalistic movement. Though these campaigns were
essentially war propaganda, they sowed the seeds of present-day
PR in India.

With Independence the Indian gove.mment earned out PR through

 d Media Relations
10 PR an
~ nation & Broadca ~tin g. lndh
of In t orr
. 1. t y .d . ' 1lii~
the Mm _s r. · of oven,ment that dcpen H on the Will ~.a
democrat1c form g Of lls
people.
. . d ated into PR in independent India. 'l'h , ,.
11' ·tyhas gta u . c
Pu' ici · t led by Jawaharlal Nehru was greatly influ itSI
Indian govemmen . . . . . >.: . ) . . . CflcC(!
. ommunic atton techmqu cs. f 11mc minister N h
by Gan dl1rnn c - . _ . . ~ . c n1
. "Freedom from 1gnoranc e 1s as essential as freed
observed. . . . ·f· . orn
from hunger.,, In other words,_ erad1~~tJng u1 ormat1on poverty
was a prerequisite to strengthen1ng pohtlcal, secular and economic
democracy. New political instituti ons, democratic bodies,
industrial policy, the concept of the mixed economy, launching
of the Five_-Year Plans etc gave impetus to the growth of
information and the PR ..._
machine ry in India .

Today, when we swear by a governm ent Hof the people, by the

people and for the people," the need for comn1unication between
the government and the people assumes great importance. People
must actively participate with the governm ent for the successful
implementation of all its program mes. PR thus fqund itself
performing a vital role in influenc ing public opinion.\

As Indian society became more complex , the need of PR was fell

to win the goodwill of various constitue nts of the public. Mod~
businesses, too, with their social perspect ive, started thinking in_
terms of their social obligations and social sanction- a sense ol
duty to the society in which they operated .

As the fastest grow · c . . . . ._ 1·t nt to b<

. · tng pro1ess1o n 1n India it 1s in1po a d.h
acquainted with th l _. .' . h ste,1 1•
. . . . e evo utton of PR profess1on agamst t e ..
changing poh ti cal e •
. , conom1c and industria l scene of 1nd1a-
. Th . h · ~11nd
·, oug. ..it has been practised i
·n· l ct · c . d des the scoP'
n 1a 1or eca • , dyell·r,
apphcab1hty of PR is quite different now. MNCs like 000 .

J
 Chapter 2: History of PR in India 11

Dunlop, Hindu stan Lever, Philips, ITC and Union Carbide

established their PR outfits in the late fifties and early sixties,
and were followed by progressive Indian business houses hke
the Tata~ ,)

While the export business was dominated by foreign cmnpanies,

family-run Indian business houses like the Tatas , Birlas , Dalmias,
Mafatlals, Shrirams and Reliance held sway in domestic trade
and commerce·. They also expanded their empires to include all
conceivable industrial activity, including print media. PR in its
present form was not commonly known, but practised through ..
in-house peripheral activities such as government liaison, sundry
assignments, publicity and support to corporate and produ ct
advertising work. Managing political relations and manipulation
was invariably a top priority, and was taken care of by the PR
department.

The sixties saw rapid industrial development. While private sector

companies proliferated, the public sector continued to control
core sectors. The government became deeply involved in running
businesses and bureaucrats became the top managers. Since the
government was the sole investor in public enterprises, it was
answ erabl e to Parlia ment through the burea ucrac y. Thus
accountability and transparency became imperative for public
sector managers. PR thus became an integral part of the public
sector ethos from the very start. Public sector organisations like
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Steel Authority of India
Ltd (SAIL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Indian
Oil Corporation (IOC), Air-India, Videsh S~nchar Nigam Ltd
(VSNL), India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) etc
have a well-knit PR set-up with greater professionalism than the
government's PR department. Initially, PR personnel in the public
secto r were recrui ted from journ alism ; they set their own
guidelines that later on became precedents. The communication
 12 PR and Media Relations

vehicles used were the prjnt media, All Indio RndH\ house
journals, exhibitions and trade fairs. While pubHc relntion8 oflicers
did not interact directly with Parliament (that being the prcro~::Hivc
of the minister in-charge), it was responsible for collecting,
c ompiling and printing annuaJ reports that were p·rcscnted to
Parliamen t, and providing supplemen tary infonni1tion to
parliament ary committees through the ministry concerned \

The seventies was an era of overall economic development and

growth in infrastructure through the expansion of the pub he sector.
In the process, industrial activity in the private sector too grew
considerably. Higher agricultura l production led to increased
demand.

The seventies also witnessed the tightening of regulations and

controls in industry, and the establishm ent of what is now
remembere d as the "Licence Raj". Political patronage of industry,
and the nexus between politicians and business reached its high
point during this period. In this environmen t, liaison masqueraded
as PR in the private sector, and socialising, wining and dining
~&me identified with this brand of PR.

ln. the public sector, however, PR as an in-house activity gained

nJOJ'Dfntum due to the new developments. Growing profitability
2nd the con.se.quent expansion programp1es of major PS Us changed
·the outlook of their management. ! They also achieved some
~ex.--or:1 to act on their own, because of operational needs and
gr-or;;.m g technocrat ic clout. The Directorate of Advertising &
\,''iwal Puhb<--ity (DAVP) began to lose its monopoly position
O"'JrtT pt..11oHc sector publicity. This offered an opportunity for dn-ect
:~aciJ'OO behi,1een in-house PR and private advertising a~ettc,es:
- ir fi. · · . . : . ·fl " nnnl JOb!l
~oro.,.e 01 t£~ me-st r;fJtporate .advertunng cam.pa1g 5 , r ,
- .. . ,t,.,.. - ~ ~'li, ,o', f1tt1/ w&--re- cr,-:ated .(;' c·Jc,.,,·ade During
. th '"'
,. d unng
,. ~.., """. ..v ..r,
~ ~ ·--/.-..J~ ·d.e<.i
.; y •
~ ~_.trl,
,p,7 ...
.. , .r,.,. t'I'., :,
l,.'AJ;I .""'.. \,,,.£_ . - - , .

~ tiEr>J.e~.PR als,o started updating its communication sk US, at 1

 Chapter 2: History of PR In India 13
by the audio-visual medium. A public sector PR platform under
the Standing Conference of Public Sector Enterprises (SCOPE)
came into being and gave the profession necessary recognition.
In addition. the PRSls statewide growth he lped to consolidate
the PR movement in India. )
In the mid-eighties, winds of change began to blow through
business culture. This period also marked the proliferation of the
business media. A new breed of qualified and committed
journalists started a new genre of investigative reporting on
business and politics. They brought corporate houses under
scrutiny and public attention. Indian businessmen were bewildered
by the sudden changes in the rules of the game, thus creating an
opportunity for PR professionals to step in and help Indian
businesses in image management.
The coming into existence of PR agencies, either independently
or as add-ons to advertising agencies, was the most significant
development of this decade. Among the first to appear on the
horizon were Mel-cole PR and Ogilvy & Mather PR. They were
followed by Hindustan Thompson's IPAN and Taj Hotels Good
Relations. Since then, agencies have continued to grow in
numbers. The growing number of PR agencies in India created
a new service industry, the need for which was being felt because
of its many advantages for a growing number of clients.
The nineties was a watershed period for the Indian economy. The
Industrial Policy Statement of 1991 (also known as the New
Economic Policy), ushered in a new business environment by
deregulating industry and the process of liberalisation and
globalisation set in. India has today developed into an attractive
investment destination for MNCs and foreign investors.
Business decisions by foreign companies, especially investment
 14 PR and Media Relations
decisions, are arrived at after doing a careful assessment
socio-economic, cultural _and poht1cal factors that may ~ f the
bearing on corporate functionJllg
. c: and performance.
. With.its ab·Ve1 a
to gather, process, interpret m1omiat10n and analyse the 1 ity
economic environment, forecast pohcy trends etc, PR h SOc10-
to be a ready tool to assist foreign companies in sha Proveq 1 ~
investment policies.PR has, therefore, a significa:lllg heit
actualising international business decisions. After : ;ole. in
company or MNC decides to enter India, it is PR th oreign
establish acceptability and naturalises it into a cred.bl
. . at helps
I e corp
it
citizen. orate
. 1ore1
Smce .{:'. ·gn companies are used to working with. PR agencies,
· · MNC accounts in many other countnes sell .to the
semcmg
domestic PR agencies. This would not only be cost-effective for
the foreign companies, but would also help the Indian PR agencies
to adopt international standards in their practices.
The tone for the expansion of the information and PR structure
was set by the government of India with the creation of the
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and its various media
units such as the Press Information Bureau (PlB), DAVP, Films
Division, Publications Division, Directorate of Field Publi~ity
(DFP), All-India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan etc. The mass mailing
unit of the DAVP alone has 15 Iakh addresses, and distributes
about 1.5 crore copies of printed material freely besides releasing
about 80,000 insertions of various press ad~ertisemeJliS. The
Drrectorate of Field Publicity, another media unit, r~aches abolrt .
IO crore people at the grassroots level with development rm:SSIJgfS·
Similarly each of th 25 . · , t..nc ·.
. ' . e states and. seven Union Territories ~ ·- ·
1t_s .own mformation and_ PR d .. .··. . ._-,. .. d·l.e the
d1ssemmation
. . of bl· · - . epartm
, .. -ent ·, ·to ·-·' •han · ·_. ·. )>· ..
network of the m
pu IC . mfonnation Th . F.. ' . •
r- d·1an govf'Tn-
. · . .. . ··• . _- .e m.1.o_
and
!,_
e~
. rrnat1ot:1 ·· -,
_-· _.::·· ~1~
_··.,..:,_-~··.
__· ~-~ "~11ent 1_s t he lru;ges; .·. in, --~-~ W0·/_:,- · -
 Ct,~ptor 2: History or Pl~ in Indio 15
reaching 50 crorc people . How ever. there is ;l need for
pro tessionalism 1n ~ovcrnment PR. It is mostly personality-
oriented ruth~r thun poltc y-orientrd . The Second Prcs!4
Commission ( 1982) ob~crvcd : "The Pi·css Jnformution Bureau
tPIB) and the State lnformation Department lend to function as
trumpeters and drum-beaters of the government and even
individual ministers, whereas the objl:ctivcs of omcial information
a~ienc ies should be to provide full and rounded infom1ation to
the public through the media" . By and lurgo, government
infom1ntion always attempts to present 'one-sided information
and achievements·, i~Y11oring the problems and fadurc s of public
bodies.
Next to government PR. it is public sector PR that plays an
important role in lndin. Today, there are more PR professional s
in the public sector than in the private sector. Following the
introduction of the New Economic Policy in 1991 that envisaged
liberalisa tion. privatisation. globalisation and a competitiv e
environmen t. the importance of public sector PR has grown
further. keeping pace with the new competition .
Libernlisation had its effects on multinational compan ies in India
as well. They had to survive nnd grow in the new environment.
In order to adjust to the new situation. MNCs set up in-house PR
departments to execute PR programmes both for internal and
external relations. The aggressive PR al:tivitics of the MNCs
provoked the Indian industrial houses in to following suit. They
started PR activity for government liaison. employee relations,
advertising etc . Several companies employed t·xperts to rmmagc
their PR. Hence PR in lndia today is practised in three woys·-·--
in-house PR department , PR only through extcmnl PR agencies
and combinatio n of both.
The professional body of PR practitioners, PRSI. was established
 Chapter 2: History of PR In India 17

its credibility. Unlike other professions, PR demands a higher

degree of personal credibility, ethical conduct, knowledge and
creativity.

From a profes sion that was almos t non .. existe nt before

independence . PR has made great strides during the past 50 years
in every sector, be it government or private industry. The PR
programme is undoubtedly essential for socio-economic growth.
The Golden Jubilee of our independence, therefore, provides us
with an opportunity to indulge in a moment of introspection.

The growt h of PR- both quanitative and qualitative----<;an be

judge d from four differ ent angle s-the practi ce of PR
(organisation of in-house PR departments and external consultancy
practice), PR education and research, professional literature and
professional associations.

To sum up, multinationals, followed by Indian business houses,

started PR outfits in the fifties and sixties, while the seventies
witnessed the growt h of public sector PR. With the prolif eratio n
of busine ss public ations in the eighties, Indian industry provid ed
increased oppor tunitie s for PR to handle the financial press. The
PR profession got another fillip with the emergence of PR agencies
in the liberalised econo my of the nineties.