Govt to hold first ever press conference on Twitter

After cracking down on internet freedom, government wants to interact with netizens on ‘democratisation of internet’

GN Bureau | September 25, 2012



Amidst criticism of it policies on internet and censorship, the Indian government may have come of age in digital era. It will host the first ever press conference on Twitter  on ‘democratization of information’ on September 24, between 3.30 and 4.15 pm. Knowledge commission chairperson and telecom guru Sam Pitroda is going to take questions from the people on the topic on his twitter handle @pitrodasam followed by #DOI.

No information about the method to be adopted during the press meet has been provided by the organisers. The twitteratis are skeptical about the participation part too whether the conference is open to everyone on twitter or only journalists will be able to ask the questions. Also, it is not clear how the organisers are going to handle the traffic and the large amount of questions that will come their way as the topic is current and relevant to internet users across India; as a tweet says, “Information on how to take part in the conference itself not clear. Shd've organized better.”

Many suggestions and questions have already come up till now for Pitroda to answer when he comes online at 3:30. As a tweet says, “let PMO put all documents on net if not classified & exempted. Oath of secrecy should b changed to oath of transparency.” This is followed by other questions related to democratisation of information and its marriage with national security, which has been a troubled one of sorts. It should be noted that most censors on the internet in recent times have been explained on the basis of national and internal security; as one tweet says, “Where will democratisation of information meet the 'national security' (where it will end)?”

To be a part of the interaction, log on to twitter and address your questions/comments to @pitrodasam.

Comments

 

Other News

`Focus on infra, reforms, digital connectivity has created strong foundation for growth`

In a step towards the operationalisation of the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA), union minister of commerce & industry Piyush Goyal launched the BHAVYA Portal on Monday in New Delhi.   Addressing the gathering, Goyal said that the BHAVYA scheme will adopt a competit

Govt, RBI announce major reforms to attract FPI

The finance ministry on Friday announced a series of measures aimed at enhancing the ease of investment for individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), and to attract stable long-term foreign capital flows.   Building on the recent in

Lessons in climate adaption from world’s largest inhabited river island

Majuli Island, perched between the Brahmaputra River to the south and east, the Subansiri River to the west, and a branch of the Brahmaputra to the north, has been severely affected by recurrent flooding and intense riverbank erosion. Despite its global importance in acquiring UNESCO tentative status for

Careless whispers and the impossible trinity

Time can never mend, the careless whispers of …    As the RBI marches ahead, for the upcoming monetary policy meeting this June, whispers from the corridors echo around several policy options to defend the rupee – by deploying forex reserves, raising in

Bullet Train Project: Third mountain tunnel breakthrough achieved

A major engineering milestone has been achieved in the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project with the successful breakthrough of the third mountain tunnel (MT-07) at Ambesari village in Dahanu Taluka of Palghar district, Maharashtra.   With this achievement, three mountain

Supreme Court gets five new judges

Five new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court of India on Monday. "Vide Notifications of even number dated 01.06.2026, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India is pleased to appoint (i) Shri





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter