Govt tweets, texts Modi message

 From tweeting to texting, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Friday pulled out all stops to disseminate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech and greetings across the country.

It also uploaded on YouTube documentary films from the archives of the Films Division on the life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Jalianwala Bagh massacre and history of cellular jail, also known as Kala Pani, to tell people about the “historic story of India’s struggle for freedom”.

The Prime Minister’s maiden Independence Day speech from the Red Fort and President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the nation on the eve of the 68th Independence Day were also uploaded on YouTube.

“Greetings on Independence Day! Let us pledge to do good deeds that benefit our Nation, fellow Indians & enhance the pride & prestige of our tricolour,” was the Prime Minister’s message that millions of people received early in the morning, both in Hindi and English.

For the first time, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) shared the greetings/message of the Prime Minister in 18 languages, including Hindi and English, on its website.
The home page had a new feature - a green and orange coloured box with white lettering - representing the Indian tricolour - which said “PM’s greetings on Independence Day”.

“The mandate of 2014 was a mandate for hope, good governance and to rebuild the trust. I assure the people that I will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the mandate given by the people of India. Our government has devoted every moment of our time to fulfill the mandate given to us," Modi said in his message.

For the very first time, arrangements were also made for simultaneous English translation of the PM’s speech, for the benefit of the foreign diplomatic corps who attended the ceremony.

The Ministry’s social media unit remained on its toes to disseminate the Prime Minister’s views on various platforms in cyber space as he spoke extempore, breaking tradition.
A large team of the I&B Ministry officials and translators worked together to ensure accurate updates are posted on social media.

Sources said I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar had held a series of meetings with officials of various departments of his Ministry to ensure prompt and effective dissemination of the PM’s message.

The Ministry used crowd-sourcing to come up with advertisement designs for the 68th Independence Day with an aim to encourage public participation.
The Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity received as many as 1,000 entries from enthusiasts.

Top three winners, selected by an independent committee, bagged an award of Rs 15,000, while seven other designs bagged consolation prize of Rs 3,000 and letter of appreciation from the Ministry.