Say cheese! Photography department in Narendra Modi government to undergo facelift

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the undisputed leader of selfies and he is making sure that his government takes up photography seriously! That’s why the photography department of the Modi government (we bet you did not know that existed) is going to undergo a major facelift. [caption id=“attachment_2164755” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Associated Press image.[/caption] The Photo Division, which functions under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, covers news and feature events for the government. According to a report in The Economic Times, the number of events that the photographers cover everyday has risen considerably under the Narendra Modi government. Bimal Julka, Secretary at the I&B Ministry told ET, “It was the PM’s idea to revamp the Photo Division and make our pictures more interesting. We are upgrading the department so that photographers switch over from outdated technology.” There are currently 40 photographers in the department – out of which two have been exclusively trained for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s events – but the government plans to expand this team of photographers. When Manmohan-led UPA was in power the process was quite straight – click pictures and upload them. “But now, PM’s and other pictures are sent to the PMO, cleared and uploaded in the next few minutes. Initially they would want just two pictures of an event, but now they want at least 20,” a cameraperson was quoted as saying by The Economic Times. Modi and his selfies need no introduction. Alone, together with his mother, with fashionista Sonam Kapoor and even author Chetan Bhagat, Narendra Modi has a selfie for every occasion. The man who introduced 3-D hologram campaigning in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, also ordered almost 2,500 photo booths for ‘Selfie with Modi’ in Delhi while campaigning for the state Assembly Elections. According to a article in The Wall Street Journal, Modi’s-team in Delhi collected 70,000 tech-savvy Delhi voters. BJP sources told The Wall Street Journal that the whole ‘selfie campaign’ was so popular that it is most likely to continue even after the elections are over. Narendra Modi, who has been touted as a social-media warrior, has made it amply clear to all, including his cabinet ministers, that social media and internet presence makes all the difference. A  report in The Indian Express quoted a government source as saying, “Like his poll campaign, crowd-sourcing and digital media will continue to play a crucial role in governance too… The new PM has already issued a diktat to all his ministers to be present on Twitter and Facebook and interact with masses.”