Rajnath Singh-led ministerial group zeroes in on tackling fake news on West Asia crisis

The seven empowered Group of Secretaries made presentations outlining key issues identified and the policy measures already put in place to manage the situation before Singh.

New Delhi: In its first meeting on Saturday, the informal Group of Minister on West Asia asked the central government departments to counter “rumours, misinformation and fake news” and work in close coordination with “state and district administration.”

The seven empowered Group of Secretaries made presentations outlining key issues identified and the policy measures already put in place to manage the situation before the I-GoM headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Others who attended the meeting are Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister JP Nadda, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh.

“It was directed that all ministries and departments share relevant information, developments and advisories related to the ongoing situation through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s WhatsApp channel to ensure dissemination of accurate information to citizens and to effectively counter rumours, misinformation and fake news,” the Union government said in a statement.

Issues that were reviewed include risks to energy supplies, domestic availability of essential commodities, critical infrastructure resilience and robustness of India’s supply chains in the wake of the conflict in West Asia.

“There was in-depth discussion on all the measures being taken. The government is closely monitoring the situation and it is committed to safeguard the Indian people from any impact of the conflict,” Rajnath said in a social media post.

The defence minister asked the secretaries to continue with close monitoring of the situation while taking a medium to long-term approach in preparedness.

He also stressed on maintaining high-level coordination, and swift decision-making, so that all policy efforts be implemented in a time-bound manner. He also sought constructive inputs from all the concerned ministers to ensure that India remains resilient and prepared.