After Modi and Chidambaram, meet Montek on Google Hangout

After Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, it will now be Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia who will interact with the public on the multi-person video chat, Google Hangout, on Friday.

He will take queries on the 12th Five Year Plan.

"The Planning Commission, along with the National Innovation Council (NIC), is hosting its first Google Hangout on the 12th Five Year Plan on 15th March 2013 at 5 PM", an official statement said.

"The hour long session on Google Hangout will be attended by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and NIC Chairman Sam Pitroda," it said.

Besides, other members and secretary of the Commission will answer questions from the public and panel invited to attend the Hangout.

The interaction will aim at communicating the objectives of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) through the social media platform so as to increase public participation and engagement in growth and welfare issues.

The Google Hangout takes forward the inclusive process followed by the Commission while formulating the Plan, during which it held consultations much more widely than ever before, underlining the need for a more inclusive and interactive approach.

During the process, inputs were provided by over 950 civil society organisations, multiple business associations, all states as well as local representative institutions and unions.

The 12th Plan has already been approved by the country's apex policy making body National Development Council headed by the Prime Minister and all Chief Ministers and Cabinet ministers on its board on December 27 last.

The statement said that this (Google Hangout) is a first step in leveraging social media for engagement on 12th Plan and over the next few months, Commission will publicise the document's contents on several other social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.

It will be streamed live via www.Youtube.Com/PlanComIndia at 5 PM on March 15.

More details of the event will be made available via the Twitter handles of Planning Commission (@PlanComIndia) and Sam Pitroda (@pitrodasam), the statement added.