Four more Indian Institutes of Mass Communication (IIMC) will soon be set up in different parts of the country to meet growing demand for media professionals, taking the number of IIMCs to six.
The new IIMCs will come up in Jammu and Kashmir and Mizoram, besides in the southern and western regions, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni today said.
"As demand for media professionals grows, we plan to expand and increase the number of IIMCs just like we have IITs and IIMs in the country, she said addressing the convocation of the 2008-09 batch of IIMC pass outs here.
She said the ministry will firm up proposals for setting up of IIMCs and the work will start soon.
Currently, there are two IIMCs in Delhi and Dhenkanal (Orissa).
Soni also said that her ministry is working out the modalities of upgrading IIMC as a world class university to provide undergraduate courses, offer MPhil and PhD degrees and serve as a think tank for media.
"With so much intrusion of the media in our lives, the sensitivity of the viewers are forgotten. I am not complaining, but only want to say that media should maintain balance and keep the sensitivities of viewers in mind," she said.
Soni said media is among the fastest growing industries in the country and therefore there is a need for IIMCs to grow and expand and thus the government is upgrading it into a world class university so that new courses can be included.
