No mobiles please, says Goyal

Going digital has been the leitmotif of most recent campaigns of the government, but few of its ministers would disagree that digital devices can ruin a good meeting. Piyush Goyal, minister of state for coal, mines, power and new and renewable energy, who has the largest number of mobile apps for monitoring activities related to his ministries, has decided he will no longer tolerate digital interruptions. In a letter addressed to those who attend meetings chaired by him, he has requested that cell phones be kept away. The letter starts by saying, “The most precious gift one can give to someone is of time and attention”, and goes on to add, “I personally find that in a meeting, the constant ringing of cell phones and the pinging of emails and messages reduce attention span and create disturbances”. Requesting people to keep their cell phones/electronic gadgets out of meeting rooms, he said, “It is my endeavour that our meeting goes on smoothly and that no issue is missed because one’s attentiveness had wandered elsewhere.”