Digital India: Govt officers getting trained in new media tools in Australia

By Agencies Last updated Oct 27, 2014

Last month, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) proposed that a National Media Analytics Centre (NMAC) be created to keep monitor and analyse round-the-clock blogs, web portals of TV channels and newspapers, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, among others

With growing importance of new medium of publicity such as Facebook and Twitter, the government is sending its media officers to Australia for hands-on training on using new communication tools.

The first batch of ten officers recently returned after completing a 10-day training course at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. The second batch of 15 officers is expected to reach Brisbane next week.

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Recognising the increasing importance of the new mediums of publicity to reach out to people, the government has devised a plan to train its information officers.

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“It was a very nice experience to all the officers. As part of the training, faculty at the Queensland University of Technology as well as officers of Australian media departments help us in upgrading our skills for the best use of new mediums of communication,” an official who attended the training programme said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the third most followed world leader on Twitter, next only to US President Barack Obama and the Pope. He has over 7.33 million followers on the website.

All important ministers including Finance, Commerce, Home Affairs and External Affairs have joined Twitter as part of the government’s effort to use social media in communicating with citizens.

The microblogging site, which has about 18 million users in India, is engaging with the government to help various ministries use the platform to connect with the masses.

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