To help Modi gauge public mood, I&B Min watching social media

To keep Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed about the mood of the nation, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has begun sending his office an analysis of the latest trends on social media. Sources said the ‘social media wing’ of the I&B ministry has been tasked with monitoring the latest trends as reflected on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The first such report was sent a few days ago to both the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Secretariat, an official said.

It is learnt that while, initially, reports may be sent on a daily basis, the frequency of these may be increased in the coming days. The reports on trends on social media can serve as a kind of feedback about the sentiments and opinions prevailing on important issues, the sources said.

The Modi government has laid stress on the role of social media and the Prime Minister himself is an avid user of such fora with a huge following on Twitter and Facebook.

The Prime Minister has also encouraged his colleagues to use social media to stay in touch with the masses. Shortly after taking over, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar had written to other ministries to extensively use social media for spreading the word on the new initiatives of the government.

I&B Ministry has also offered its counterparts assistance in operating their accounts on social media websites.