With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley active on Facebook and Twitter, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has asked the Defence Ministry to opt for social media for instant dissemination of information. Efforts are now underway to have presence on other websites besides Facebook and Twitter.
The Defence Ministry, so far, had refrained from going for social media with then Defence Minister AK Antony shying away from Facebook and Twitter after a controversy surrounding Shashi Tharoor, a Minister of State in the UPA Government, over his tweets.In fact, Modi and Jaitley use the social media to inform about their schedules, speeches, visits and meetings with Indian and international leaders. Recently, during his visit to forward Army bases in Jammu and Kashmir, Jaitley had expressed his experience of visiting the line of Control (lOC) near the Haji Pir pass on Twitter.
The Prime Minister also updates his Twitter account on his meetings and speeches and had also put a selfie with his mother soon after his party's victory in the recent lok Sabha elections.