Public Relations and Lobbying in India

Hello everyone..

Just to make it clear folks Public Relations and Lobbying may sound similar but there is a vast difference between these two terms. 

To began with lets know what exactly lobbying means, 

Lobbying is an act of infusing others for a personal interest. It may be a legal business and a paid activity in many countries but is illegal and is done by bribing in India. Lobbying is given a new name here and is called legal advising. Lobbing to a particular limits is OK but if it is done for a personal interest then it is a crime.

Definition of Lobbying- 

1.  'Lobbying' (also 'Lobby') is a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by the government by individuals or more usually by Lobby groups; it includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents, or organized groups.
2. A 'lobbyist' is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby.

Now lets know what dose Public Relations means,

Public relations is the practice of getting attention and shaping public opinion. The aim of public relations by a company often is to persuade the public, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political decisions. Common activities include speaking at conferences.

Definition of Public Relations-

1. Edward Louis Bernays and Ivy Lee defines Public Relations as "a management function, which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures, and interests of an organization... followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance." 
2.  The World Assembly of Public Relations Associations defined it as: "the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest."

This might help you in solving your doubts, by the expertise..

The public relations industry has unwillingly been brought to the forefront in recent times due to the controversy stirred up over lobbying. “There is a huge difference between PR and lobbying.

 Veena Gidwani, Chief Executive Officer, Madison PR says, “There is a confusion between the two because both services are at times offered by the consultancy or agencies.” She also went on to say that public relations today was beyond placement of releases and had moved to a place where clients asked for strategic communication plans.

 “Today, audiences are sceptical. Public relations delivers a message to audiences with a preferential purpose, not a vested interest.” In terms or challenges and core issues faced by the industry, “Transparency from the service provider and a need for disclosure of interest and a limitation on funding is required.”says  Ashwani Singla, Managing Director and Chief Executive, South Asia, Penn Schoen Berland.

Conclusion.

 To conclude it i would just say that lobbying for a public interest is sometimes good but it would be a crime in India if practiced for personal interest. Lobbying may be a business in other countries but not in India. To make it possible here a line should be drawn by industries coming together to draft a legislation.And talking about Public relations its no where manipulating someone or asking to do as the PR says.Its purely a preplanned process or a strategy which in public interest or the organizations interest only proceeds further  with everyone agreeing to it. It is much of maintaining good relationship with media as well as public. So it goes like this organization to media to public its a cycle which we can say is driven by the PR.