Government allocates Rs 22 Cr for establishing new media wing [Facebook, Twitter, YouTube]

The Union Cabinet has announced Rs 22 crore fund for establishment of ‘New Media Wing’ under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for publicizing government’s initiatives through multiple social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc).

The New Media Wing in the Ministry would address the communication and dissemination requirements of the Government on social media platforms. The proposal for establishment of New Media Wing has been drawn on the basis of the experience of the initiative undertaken by the ministry recently, on a pilot basis to position itself on the social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

The administrative and operational support for the initiative will be provided by a media unit under I & B Ministry. However, the statement from government didn't mention whether it will outsource social media handles to private players or will have in-house team to manage them.

Over the past about a year, the government has been active while managing social media platforms. Earlier this year, there was an announcement to recruit digital volunteers to talk about government welfare schemes and programs. In addition, the central government also laid down frameworks for using social media by government agencies.

While most of the government social media accounts are not very responsive and prompt in nature, the new media wing with independent fund may bring more energy and actions on social media front.