Stick to ‘1 government, 1 narrative’: Principal secretary to PM Modi P K Mishra’s advice to babus | India News
NEW DELHI: Citizens don’t distinguish between ministries as for them there is only “one Govt of India”, P K Mishra, principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi, told the country’s top bureaucrats while urging them to ensure that communication meant for the public must reflect “one govt, one purpose, one narrative”.TOI has learnt that Mishra, while addressing secretaries of ministries and central govt departments last week, spoke about the challenges of “imperfect misinformation” and “messages getting distorted”.One of the secretaries present in he meeting said top PMO functionaries highlighted how officers and their departments can ensure that communication meant for the public is received, felt and owned, rather than assuming that once a message is transmitted, it is communicated.“The message is clear from the top that govt communication must focus on how decisions affect people’s lives and bring improvement. Whether it’s planning, execution or communication, we can’t work in silos. There should be one overarching narrative, which means every ministry should reinforce the same national goals,” said an official.Officials also said every department has been asked to focus on digital and social media for govt-citizen communication, considering that over 900 million people in India are active online at any time — more than 600 million on social media — and that on an average an Indian spends 2.5 hours daily on digital platforms. They were also informed how nearly 65% Indians are of less than 35 years and they prefer reels, memes, podcasts and social media conversations.
