The development sector in India had long not been viewed till recently as requiring communication professionals. Communication for Development was like rendering assistance of non-technical nature, which involved educating people on various development issues and promoting highly diverse and unstructured activities. It was realized later that the development work required techno-managerial assistance who are well- trained on communication strategies to reach out to the under-developed communities. These communication professionals were such set of people who have exposure to multidisciplinary knowledge and training in development communication concepts and methods. The learning on the approach to development reinforced this on the nature of input further. The significance of communication for development approach in producing long-term outcomes became apparent. The strategy
was understood as providing learning to the local communities by organizing them so as to build their self reliance. That is enabling them or “helping them to take care of themselves…do for themselves today what others have done for them yesterday.” Otherwise, the approach involves building the capabilities of the people or rigorous human resource development efforts. It requires qualified and trained professionals to facilitate such a process.