Modi bans mobiles in meetings, says use social media for people's welfare

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday asked bureaucrats to avoid using social media for self promotions, stating that mobile phones were banned from his meetings because he often found officials checking social media sites in the midst of discussions.

"I see these days that district-level officers are so busy, busy, that most of their time goes into it (social media)," he said at a meeting of bureaucrats to commemorate Civil Services Day.

Modi also said that he had stopped the entry (of mobile phones) in his meetings as they (officers) would take them out and start checking out social media sites, reports Times of India.

"Agar hamari photo idhar se udhar ho jaye to hamari neend haram ho jati hai (If a photo of ours goes missing, we lose sleep)," Modi said, amid laughter from the gathering of senior officers on the occasion of the civil services day.

Saying that the world was moving from e-governance to mobile- governance, Modi said, "If I am informing the people about dates of polio vaccination through social media, then it is helpful. But if during vaccination-related work, I am praising my own photograph on facebook, then it puts a question mark."

During his speech, Modi said that he was not a part of the bureaucracy because he did not get the chance "to attend coaching", referring to the tuition classes which many would-be bureaucrats join to be able to qualify for the civil services.

If he had, he said, he would have become a bureaucrat of the rank of a director after serving the people for 16 years.

"It is my good luck that I am in public service for the past 16 years...I did not get the chance to attend coaching," he said.