IB ministry’s ‘smart tab’ gives plan panel hiccups

The Planning Commission has raised objection to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry’s proposal to give iPads, tablets, laptops and smartphones to senior ministry babus as part of the proposal to set up a dedicated social media cell for the UPA government. Chetan Chauhan reports ...

Updated on: Jun 16, 2013, 18:55:26 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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The Planning Commission has raised objection to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry’s proposal to give iPads, tablets, laptops and smartphones to senior ministry babus as part of the proposal to set up a dedicated social media cell for the UPA government.

“The magnitude of procurement of such items is questionable,” the plan panel said in a note to the finance ministry. “Efforts need to be made for cost-effective implementation of the scheme. Savings accrued on this account may lead to funding other prioritised schemes and projects,” the panel said.

The finance ministry had been given Rs 22.50 crore for the 12th five year plan period to the I&B ministry for the social media cell. The money has been provided by slashing the budget of the ministry’s outreach programme to take the UPA government achievements to rural hinterland.

The UPA government considered social media a new threat and wanted to increase its penetration on the online medium but did not have a dedicated wing for the same. However, different ministries have their own social media cells.

“I cannot understand a need for special media cell and expenditure for iPads and smartphones in the I&B ministry. There is already one such cell in the Prime Minister’s Office. The Planning Commission also monitors social media and conducts social media events showcasing UPA government achievements,” a senior plan panel functionary said, adding that the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has already trained its media officials in social media.

The panel itself has conducted different social media events in the last three months including Google Hangout and Hackathon. Road minister CP Joshi and minister of state for HRD had also been in Google Hangout with an expenditure of several lakh rupees. The Science and Technology ministry has also done several social media events.

The panel has expressed concern that when most ministries have their social media cells then why a dedicated one was being proposed by the I&B ministry. At the best, the panel says, the I&B ministry’s cell could coordinate between different ministries, the role played by the PIB for print and electronic media.

The bid of I&B ministry to have special social media cell has surprised many in the government as the ministry does not have wherewithal to monitor the schemes of the UPA government and create database to project UPA achievements on social media.

The plan panel has also rejected the I&B ministry’s another proposal to establish a think tank as an independent agency under the Societies Registration Act. The panel said that the better option would be to set up a separate centre in the existing think tanks instead of setting a new one.

The ministry’s proposal of online newspaper has also not found favour with the Planning Commission considering the low credibility of the government.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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