Overview

The origin of the Department of Communication could be traced to the Division of Publications and Press Relations in the then Economics Department way back in 1960’s. Recognising the widening range of functions of the Reserve Bank and its associate institutions and the need for effective publicity and public relations, the office of the Press Relations Officer was converted into a full-fledged Press Relations Section in the seventies. The Division was, in March 2007, given the status of a full-fledged department and was renamed Department of Communication (DoC).

Communication Policy

In 2008, the Reserve Bank of India for the first time, elaborated its communication policy which was placed on the RBI website with the approval of the Reserve Bank's Central Board of Directors. An updated Version 2.0 of communication policy was released in July 2021.

Dissemination

The varied publications of the Reserve Bank are the mainstay of the Reserve Bank’s dissemination policy. Apart from the publications, speeches of the Governor and Deputy Governors provide rationale and explanations behind the policy decisions. Informal discussions with financial editors are also arranged every two months to keep open an informal channel of communication between the media and the Reserve Bank.

Dissemination of information in the Reserve Bank is centralised. The present communication channels used by DoC for dissemination of information are:

• Press releases, press summaries of reports and publications, speeches of Governor/Deputy Governors and rejoinders;

• Press conferences, economic editors’ conferences and media briefings;

• Meetings/interviews of press persons with the Reserve Bank officials;

• Emails;

• Learning sessions for media

• Brochures/pamphlets;

• Website;

• Advertisements;

• Periodicals.

Feedback

As a 360-degree communication process, the Reserve Bank actively seeks feedback from stakeholders on regulations through its website. Department of Communication also monitors reports appearing in the newspapers, journals and news agencies and television and prepares a daily news summary of important news items in national media.

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