Media and Communication Technology

2.1 Core concepts

Communication and Extension, along with Mass Communication and Public Relations, forms one of the five HEFS fields. Communication is not merely a personal skill but a public-health, development and social-change tool — directly relevant to Indian extension programmes such as ICDS, Anganwadi, Saakshar Bharat, Doordarshan's farm and family programming, and the modern Digital India / Jan Aushadhi outreach.

• Concept of communication: It is the process of thinking, observing, understanding, analysing, sharing and transmitting feelings to others through diverse mediums; the word stems from the Latin communis meaning "common" — effective communication creates a shared understanding between communicator and receiver (NCERT §6.1, p. 75).
• Classification by type of interaction: One-way (receiver cannot reciprocate immediately — speeches, lectures, sermons, radio, TV, internet searches); Two-way (parties exchange ideas silently or verbally — mobile chat, baby's cry to mother) (NCERT §6.1 A, pp. 75–76).
• Classification by levels: Intra-personal (communicating with oneself, e.g., mental rehearsal before an interview); Inter-personal (face-to-face with one or more — most effective due to proximity and instant feedback); Group (more than two persons, participatory, uses audio-visual aids); Mass (multiplying messages by mechanical device to large, heterogeneous, anonymous audiences — radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, satellite; feedback is slow, cumulative, expensive and delayed); Intra-organisational (within an organisation, two-way at same level and one-way across levels); Inter-organisational (between organisations for cooperation, e.g., Govt of India with UNICEF/USAID/UNDP) (NCERT §6.1 B, pp. 76–78).
• Classification by means/modes: Verbal — auditory means like speaking, singing, tone of voice; an individual spends about 70 per cent of active time communicating verbally (listening, speaking, reading aloud). Non-verbal — gestures, facial expressions, posture, eye contact, touch, para-language, writing, clothing, hair styles, architecture, symbols, sign language (e.g., smoke signals used by some tribal people) (NCERT §6.1 C, p. 79).
• Classification by number of senses involved: People retain ~10% of what they read, 20–25% of what they hear, 30–35% of what they see, 50%+ of what they see and hear, and 90%+ of what they see, hear and do — involvement of more senses makes learning more clear and permanent (NCERT §6.1 D, p. 79).
• SMCRE Model: Six elements arranged in a cycle — Source (communicator/originator/sender), Message (information/ideas/content), Channel (tools/medium), Receiver (audience), and Effect (feedback / audience response); described by "Who says, what, to whom, when, in what manner, under what circumstances and with what effect" (NCERT §6.1, pp. 80–82, Figure 2).
• Types of channels: Inter-personal communication channels (individuals and groups) and mass media communication channels (satellite, wire-less and sound waves) (NCERT §6.1, p. 82).
• Definition of media: Media is the means that uses various methods of communication for disseminating and sharing ideas, thoughts, feelings, innovations and experiences; mass media is always meant for heterogeneous, anonymous and large audiences (NCERT §6.2, p. 83).
• Traditional media: Folk theatre/drama — Jatra (Bengal), Ramleela & Nautanki (Uttar Pradesh), Bidesia (Bihar), Tamasha (Maharashtra), Yakshagana & Dashavatar (Karnataka), Bhavai (Gujarat); folk songs — Baul & Bhatiali (Bengal), Sna & Dadaria (MP), Duha & Garba (Gujarat), Chakri (Kashmir), Bhangra & Gidda (Punjab), Kajri, Chaiti & Allha (UP/Bihar), Powda & Lavni (Maharashtra), Bihu (Assam), Charans & Bhaatt (Rajasthan); puppetry — string puppets Sutradharika (Rajasthan, Gujarat) and Chhaya Putli (shadow puppets in southern parts) (NCERT §6.2, pp. 83–84).
• Modern media: Radio, satellite television, modern print media, films, audio cassette and compact disk, cable and wireless technology, mobile phone, video film and video conferencing (NCERT §6.2, p. 84).
• Nine functions of media: Information, Persuasion/Motivation, Entertainment, Interpretation, Transmission of values, Education or training, Coordination, Behavioural change, Development (NCERT §6.2, pp. 84–85).
• Communication technology: Various technologies developed and used to handle information and aid communication — includes hardware, organisational structures and social values; data may be analogue (electronic signals) or digital (NCERT §6.3, p. 87).
• Classification of communication technologies: Cable (land) based — cheaper, less complicated (landline telephone, PC without internet); Wireless — less infrastructure but more expensive (radio, microwave and satellite wireless telephony, Bluetooth in mobile phones and computers) (NCERT §6.3, p. 87).
• Radio & TV milestones: Radio commands a universal audience by geographical spread, income, education, age, sex and religion. Television was introduced in India in 1959 primarily to impact education and promote rural development; the first TV transmitter was acquired by Pij village in Gujarat (NCERT §6.3, pp. 86–87).
• Modern communication technologies: Micro-computers (microchip-based), Video text (electronic text from central computer to home TV via telephone/cable, interactive), Electronic mail (electronic surface mail), Interactive video (combination of computer and video, multi-media), Teleconferencing (interactive group communication for geographically dispersed participants). Bluetooth is a low-cost, short-range RF link transmitting voice and data, up to 8 times the speed of parallel/serial ports, through solid non-metal objects (NCERT §6.3, pp. 87–89). Four extensions add depth. First, the classification by levels (intra-personal → inter-personal → group → mass → intra-organisational → inter-organisational) maps onto a 'concentric rings' model of communication scale. Intra-personal sits at the centre (the individual self talking to itself); inter-personal is one-to-one or small face-to-face; group is small to medium; mass is large heterogeneous anonymous audiences via mechanical multiplication; intra-organisational governs internal flows within a single organisation; inter-organisational handles flows between organisations such as the Indian government and UNICEF. Remember that 'organisational' levels are not redundant with 'group' — they are organisational in the sociological sense (formal entities), not numerical. Second, in the verbal-vs-non-verbal mode classification, the 70% figure for verbal time pairs with the fact that non-verbal cues (gestures, posture, eye contact, para-language) often carry more affective weight than verbal content — which is why Anganwadi workers are trained extensively in body language and folk-song interaction in addition to spoken Hindi/regional language. Third, in the SMCRE model, 'feedback' (the E in SMCRE — Effect) is what distinguishes successful communication from mere transmission. Mass media historically had slow, cumulative and expensive feedback; modern social media has compressed this loop dramatically — a context CUET items can exploit to test whether students see the model as a static formula or as a dynamic cycle. Fourth, traditional Indian folk forms include Jatra (Bengal), Ramleela/Nautanki (UP), Bidesia (Bihar), Tamasha (Maharashtra), Yakshagana/Dashavatar (Karnataka), Bhavai (Gujarat), Baul/Bhatiali (Bengal), Bihu (Assam), Bhangra/Gidda (Punjab), Lavni/Powda (Maharashtra), and puppetry (string Sutradharika in Rajasthan/Gujarat; shadow Chhaya Putli in southern India). These regional listings are CUET match-the-following gold. Modern media include radio, satellite television, mobile, internet, video conferencing — and the cable-based vs wireless distinction in §6.3. Television in India deserves committing to memory. TV was introduced in India in 1959, primarily for educational and rural-development objectives, and the first TV transmitter was acquired by Pij village in Gujarat. SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment) of 1975-76, INSAT and Doordarshan's growth followed; these are the standard Indian backdrop. The nine functions of media — Information, Persuasion/Motivation, Entertainment, Interpretation, Transmission of values, Education/training, Coordination, Behavioural change, Development — should be memorised in order, since CUET frequently tests which is not listed.

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

• Figure 1: Communication System among various Organisations — Government of India linked to Govt ministries (MoE, Ministry of Women & Child Development) and to international agencies (UNICEF, USAID, UNDP) and Indian NGOs (p. 78).
• Figure 2: The SMCRE Model of Communication — Source → Message → Channel → Receiver, with "Effect of Communication (Feedback)" as a return arrow (p. 80).
• Sense-retention table (p. 79): Read 10% · Hear 20–25% · See 30–35% · See+Hear 50% · See+Hear+Do 90%.
• Table 1 (p. 79): Classification of communication based on number of senses — audio category includes radio, audio recordings, CD players; audio-visual includes television, video films, multi-media.

2.5 Key data / processes table (Indian context)

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• One-way vs Mass: Mass communication can be one-way but they are not synonyms; mass communication is defined by multiplying messages to large heterogeneous audiences via mechanical devices.
• Intra-personal vs Inter-personal: Intra = with oneself (mental rehearsal); Inter = face-to-face with one or more persons. NTA flips these.
• Traditional vs Modern media: Puppetry, Ramleela, Jatra, folk songs and even newspapers/charts/posters are listed as traditional; radio, satellite TV, mobile, internet, video conferencing are modern.
• 70% figure applies to verbal communication (active time), not to retention by senses (which is the 10/20/30/50/90 series).
• TV introduction year — 1959 in India; first TV transmitter — Pij village, Gujarat. These two facts are often swapped in distractors.
• SMCRE = five elements with feedback as the fifth; the NCERT also says "Six elements" by counting feedback separately — the model name has 5 letters but feedback closes the cycle.
• Verbal includes singing and tone of voice — NOT only spoken words. Written language belongs partly to non-verbal in NCERT's framing.
• Charts, posters, drawings are listed by NCERT under traditional media; many students wrongly place them in modern media.
• Group communication ≠ mass communication — group is small participatory, mass is large heterogeneous via mechanical multiplication.
• Number of media functions is nine — NTA distractors often say seven or eleven.