Public Relations Consultants Association of India

A member firm shall:
1.1	Have a positive duty to observe the highest standards in the practice of public relations. Furthermore a member has the responsibility at all times to deal fairly and honestly with clients, past and present, fellow members and professionals, the public relations profession, other professions, suppliers, intermediaries, the media of communication, employees, and above all else the public.
1.2	Be expected to be aware of, understand and observe this code, any amendment to it, and any other codes which shall be incorporated into this code, and to remain up-to-date with the content and recommendations of any guidance or practice papers issued by the PRCAI, and shall have a duty to conform to good practice as expressed in such guidance or practice papers.
1.3	Uphold this code and co-operate with fellow members in so doing by enforcing decisions on any matter arising from its application. A member firm that knowingly causes or permits a member of its staff to act in a manner inconsistent with this code is party to such action and shall itself be deemed to be in breach of it. Any member of staff of a member company who acts in a manner inconsistent with this code must be disciplined by the employer.
A member firm shall not:
1.4	Engage in any practice nor be seen to conduct itself in any manner detrimental to the reputation of the Association or the reputation and interests of the public relations profession.

2. Conduct towards the Public, the Media government related bodies, and other Professionals

A member firm shall:
2.1	Conduct its professional activities with proper regard to the public good.
2.2	Have a positive duty at all times to respect the truth and shall not disseminate false or misleading information knowingly or recklessly, and to use proper care to avoid doing so inadvertently.
2.3	Have a duty to ensure that the actual interest of any organization/consultant/associate with which it may be professionally concerned is adequately declared.
2.4	When working in association with other professionals, identify and respect the codes of these professions and shall not knowingly be party to any breach of such codes.
2.5	While working with or for government and government bodies, one must respect the unique responsibility towards taxpayers and their money and hence must uphold public trust
2.6	Honour confidences received or given in the course of professional activity.
2.7	Neither propose nor undertake any action which would constitute an improper influence on organs of government, or on legislation, or on the media.
2.8	Neither offer nor give, nor cause a client to offer or give, any inducement to persons holding public office or members of any statutory body or organisation who are not directors, executives or retained consultants, with intent to further the interests of the client if such action is inconsistent with the public good.
In addition, member firms will be obliged to:
Not influence by unfair means, including any payment in cash or in kind, or barter by a third party, editorial content in any media.
Ensure that Editorial which appears as a result of a payment in cash or in kind, or barter by a third party will be clearly identified as advertising or a paid promotion, Solicitation.
The agencies may provide samples on loan of client products or services to journalists where it is necessary for such journalists to test, use, taste or sample the product or service in order to articulate an objective opinion about the product or service. The length of time required for sampling should be agreed in advance. All loaned products or services should be returned after sampling and not left as gifts. A proper system of monitoring stocks of such products in media circulation must be maintained at all times to ensure accurate accounting. All resulting published reports should state clearly that the product or service was provided for the purpose of the test.
Any editorial material(s) prepared by the agency should be shared with the media after the same have been authorized for release by the concerned client. Member agencies should ensure that all set authorization processes are followed before issuance of such information.
Agency should conduct its own due diligence to determine the accuracy of information issued/disseminated by it. It shall refrain from knowingly sending out/sharing either formally or informally, false or incorrect information or mis-representing facts, as known to it at that time.
All overseas/off-site media trips or hosted tours organized on behalf of clients should be organized in a professional manner whereby the invitation is sent to a publication, not a particular journalist. All coverage emanating from such trips/hosted tours should be recognized as such at the time of publication.

3. Conduct towards clients

A member firm shall:

3.1

Safeguard the confidences of both present and former clients and shall not disclose or use these confidences, to the disadvantage or prejudice of such clients or to the financial advantage of the member firm, unless the client has released such information for public use, or has given specific permission for its disclosure; except upon the order of a court of law.

3.2

Inform a client of any shareholding or financial interest held by that firm or any member of that firm in any company, firm or person whose services it recommends.

3.3

Be free to accept fees, commissions or other valuable considerations from persons other than a client, for work undertaken on behalf of the client, only provided such considerations are disclosed to the client.

3.4

Be free to negotiate with a client terms that take into account factors other than hours worked and seniority of staff involved. These special factors, which are also applied by other professional advisers, shall have regard to all the circumstances of the specific situation and in particular to:

a.	The complexity of the issue, case, problem or assignment, and the difficulties associated with its completion.
b.	The professional or specialised skills and the seniority levels of staff engaged, the time spent and the degree of responsibility involved.
c.	The amount of documentation necessary to be perused or prepared, and its importance.
d.	The place and circumstances where the assignment is carried out in whole or in part.
e.	The scope, scale and value of the task, and its importance as an issue or project to the client.

3.5

Disallow its employees from using their position or influence with the client to unfairly solicit business or employment for their family or friends.

3.6

Return all material or information in its possession and assist with smooth transition to a fellow consultancy, in the event of cessation of its agreement with the Client, provided the Client has settled all its dues.

3.7

Intimate the PRCAI, if a Client has moved its account, without clearing the dues of the consultancy, or has a poor track record of payments, so that other members can take an informed decision about doing business with such clients

A member firm shall not:

3.8

Misuse information regarding its current and past client's business for financial or other gain.

3.9

Use inside information for gain. Nor may a consultancy, its members or staff directly invest in their clients' securities without the prior written permission of the client and of the member's chief executive or chief financial officer or compliance officer.

3.10

Serve a client under terms or conditions which might impair its independence, objectivity or integrity.

3.11

Serve a client under terms and conditions which set a wrong precedent for other members of PRCAI, and which can potentially harm the image of the profession. This would include working on significantly compromised terms or agreeing to undertake a campaign, prepare materials or publicity, or cause publication of any copy or article which, in the consultant’s judgment, would be untrue, indecent, libelous, unlawful otherwise or prejudicial to the interests of the society in general.

3.12

Guarantee the achievement of results which are beyond the member's direct capacity to achieve or prevent.

3.13

Invite any employee of a client advised by the member to consider alternative employment or employment with the consultancy, without explicit written permission of the client, and insist this to be reciprocally agreed upon by the Clients; (an advertisement is not considered to be an invitation to any particular person).

3.14

Extend gifts or entertainment of value higher than the minimal societal norms, to the personnel of the Clients, with the motive of influencing their business decisions.

4. Conduct towards Colleagues

A member firm shall:
4.1	Adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth, avoiding extravagant claims or unfair comparisons and giving credit for ideas and words borrowed from others.
4.2	Be free to represent its capabilities and services to any potential client, either on its own initiative or at the behest of the client, provided in so doing it does not seek to breach any existing contract or detract from the reputation or capabilities of any member consultancy already serving that client.
A member firm shall not:
4.3	Injure the professional reputation or practice of another member.

5. Discriminatory Conduct

A member is required to take all reasonable care that professional duties are
conducted without causing offence on the grounds of gender, race, religion, disability or any other form of discrimination or unacceptable reference.

PRCAI Public Affairs Code of Conduct

Preamble

This Code of Conduct covers the activities of regulated political consultants (defined as PRCAI member companies, their staff and non-executive consultants) in relation to all Indian governments , regional and local government bodies and agencies,
public bodies and political parties (hereinafter “institutions of Government”). This Code applies equally to all clients, whether or not fee-paying.

It is a condition of membership of the PRCAI that the member firm, its staff and non-executive consultants should accept and agree to abide by this Code for itself and that members will be jointly and severally liable for the actions of their staff in relation to the Code. Regulated political consultants are required to endorse the Code and duties set out in it in relation to their business dealings with clients and with institutions of government.

The Code of Conduct applies the principles that political consultants should be open, transparent and honest in their dealings with parliamentarians or representatives of institutions of government; and that there should be no financial relationship between them. PRCAI members are determined to act at all times with the highest standards of integrity and in a professional and ethical manner reflecting the principles applied by this Code. In the view of the PRCAI, it is inappropriate for a person to be both a legislator and a political consultant.

This code of conduct applies to public affairs practitioners dealing with Indian Government. Our work as public affairs professionals contributes to a healthy democratic process, acting as a link between the world of business and civil society and Indian policy-makers. The signatories to this code are all committed to abide by it, acting in an honest, responsible manner at all times and seeking to apply the highest professional standards.

identify themselves by name and by company;

declare the interest represented by them

neither intentionally misrepresent their status nor the nature of their inquiries to officials of the Indian Government nor create any false impression in relation thereto;

neither directly nor indirectly misrepresent links with Indian Government/Institutes;

honour confidential information given to them;

not disseminate false or misleading information knowingly or recklessly and shall exercise proper care to avoid doing so inadvertently;

not sell for profit to third parties copies of documents obtained from Indian Government;

not obtain information from Indian Government/Institutes by dishonest means;

avoid any professional conflicts of interest;

neither directly nor indirectly offer nor give any financial inducement to:

•	any Government official, nor
•	Member of the Indian Parliament, nor
•	their staff;

neither propose nor undertake any action which would constitute an improper influence on them;

only employ Government personnel subject to the rules and confidentiality requirements of the Government;

All signatories agree that they and all employees of their company will adhere to the above Code, and be subject to the disciplinary rules of PRCAI in case of breach of the Code. The signatories will meet annually to review this code.

I hereby subscribe to the above code (name, signature & date):
on behalf of (firm):
Address:
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