Now, PMO eyes a YouTube hit

You might have followed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Twitter, now you can watch him on YouTube. On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) expanded its presence in the social media circuit by making its debut on the popular video-sharing website. Sanjib Kr Baruah reports.

You might have followed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Twitter, now you can watch him on YouTube. On Sunday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) expanded its presence in the social media circuit by making its debut on the popular video-sharing website.

The move, an official source told HT, is part of the UPA government's new-found zeal to connect with India's plugged-in generation. And it's not going to stop just there.

"By the end of the budget session of Parliament, the PMO will have a Facebook account to communicate more actively with the people," the official said.

The PMO's YouTube channel is called 'PMOfficeIndia'.

The first video uploaded on Sunday was of the Prime Minister's speech at a conference related to the UPA's flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. This was followed by another about his visit to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat on his birthday on October 2 last year.

"This effort to ramp up the social media presence is all about streaming into as many communication formats as much as possible for greater engagement," the official added.

The PMO started spreading its footprints into the new media after TV journalist Pankaj Pachauri took over as communications adviser to the Prime Minister. The Centre has also set up a social media cell under the Press Information Bureau to promote public policies on Twitter and Facebook.