Defence Ministry asked to get active on Twitter and Facebook

In the regime of Narendra Modi, who is very active on the social media, the Defence Ministry has been asked by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to enhance its presence on websites such as Facebook and Twitter for publicity activities.

A circular has been sent to the Defence Ministry by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to get active on the social media for publicity.

Officials are making preparations for implementing this directive, Defence Ministry officials said.

This will be a big shift for the Defence Ministry as it had deliberately kept itself away from the social media sites, including Twitter, under former Defence Minister A K Antony.

The previous minister was against the use of social media for publicity, especially after a controversy involving a minister of state under the UPA regime over his tweets.

Contrary to this, the Prime Minister himself and the new Defence Minister Arun Jaitley have their accounts on both Facebook and Twitter and use them actively to disseminate information about their schedules, speeches, visits and meetings with both 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 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.