Reach out to the public, PM Narendra Modi tells Union Ministers

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of his Council of Ministers at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in the national capital on Sunday and stressed the need for "effective communication" with the public, including on social media.

According to the sources, the Prime Minister also directed the Ministers to take the work done by the Centre to the people and apprise them about the government schemes. Top bureaucrats were also present in the meeting.

"Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba made a presentation today on the Central government schemes, their reach and impact. Some important issues including inflation, where India stands in comparison to the world, and the pre-NDA era before 2014 were also mentioned in the presentation", sources said.

"Another presentation was made by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade secretary and I&B secretary during today's meeting. The key focus was on the work done in the health and education sector by the government", they added.

According to the sources, the Prime Minister once again laid stress on the need for effective communication and the importance of being visible on social media and other tools of communication.

"All this to make the work done by the government visible to the people", sources said.

The message of the Prime Minister comes at a time when the general elections are only a year away.

The sources further said that PM Modi underlined the need to reach out to all strata of society and not merely those who are existing beneficiaries of the schemes of the government.

"Reach out to all people, not just those who got direct benefit transfers etc., but there were several people who were not even in the below poverty line and have taken benefits of the health and education schemes of the government. The number of medical seats has gone up and we have seen half of the educational institutions including IIT and that had benefited people across the spectrum", sources quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

The Prime Minister in particular asked his colleagues to reach out to people and apprise them about the Central government schemes that have benefited all irrespective of their caste, creed, or religion.

The sources said that PM Modi narrated a personal account of how a beneficiary blessed him saying that despite not knowing her children's whereabouts, it was her son in Delhi (Modi) who ensured she didn't sleep hungry (ghar ka chulha kabhi bujhne nahi diya).

"The Prime Minister got emotional while he recalled this today", sources added.

This is the last Council of Ministers' meeting ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament next week. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget, the last full Budget before next year's Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)

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