Union ministries score high on social media

New Delhi: Over the past two years, the Narendra Modi government has been able to successfully develop its assets in the social media world with millions of followers. Ever since the NDA government came to power, the social media handling has been very mature.  Social media operatives working for the government have been effective in developing separate handles for ministries and ministers. Sources stated that this has benefited the government immensely as each ministry now has a dual presence on the virtual world.  

Sources stated that the dissemination from ministries social media accounts is non-political, development-oriented, policy and awareness creation. Handles of ministers are used for all these purposes as well as making political statements.

However, care has been taken to ensure that ministry handles are not used for political dissemination. “Over more than two years, not even one instance can be reported where official handles are used for political dissemination,” sources added.

With Mr Modi leading from the top, there has been a thrust on use of social media to reach out to the masses. “And all these virtual properties are ultimately assets of the Gover-nment of India. Governm-ents may come and go, but these assets would remain and keep growing in value,” sources added.

With the Union information and broadcasting ministry as a key player, the government has been able to aggressive promote its social welfare schemes on the social media. Sources stated that today the government is not only capable of generating trends but also of culling any rumour mongering. Training of senior officials from various ministries in the utilisation of social media in crisis management has also become a routine affair. It is understood that the training is part of the government strategy for better utilisation of social media platforms by the government for dissemination of information to the people, a point often emphasised upon by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the new media engagement policy, the government has completely overhauled the system through which it interacts with the common man and the media. With the mobile density in India amongst the highest in the world, and the proliferation of smart mobile phones, the connectivity of an average citizen to social media platforms has also increased.