Itanagar Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has asked the state government departments to have dedicated pages on Facebook.

“I believe 90 percent of our urban citizens are on Facebook and can avail information on the programs, policies and schemes offered by the government through its departments on Facebook far better than through meetings, seminars, workshops or the traditional media. Through Facebook we can reach individuals who can benefit from such programs and schemes but are not aware of it,” Khandu said.

“We, however, have very little knowledge about Facebook and its usage that would benefit us in good governance. It is for this reason that I feel government machinery needs to be educated with variety of tools that makes communicating easy,” he said while opening a special training program here for government officials.

The chief minister expressed optimism that the training will empower and enable departments to leverage their presence on Facebook and meet organisational objectives.

Giving an insight into Facebook and its tools, Nitin Saluja, Facebook Policy Program Manager, India & South Asia, said that it has been Facebook’s mission to make the world more open and connected by providing a platform for direct interactions between governments and its citizens.
(Source: Business Standard)