India PM website's linking policy is baffling in the age of social media

Now that the dust over the elections and the results has settled, we can assume that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already begun work on the promised path of development and clean governance.

Technology and social media have been a big factor in Modi’s win. In a letter posted on the PM’s official website, Modi spoke about the power of technology and social media, and hoped they would create opportunities to learn and share views. However, all that power does not mean you can link directly to the PM’s official website. At least, not without getting prior permission.

The hyperlinking policy on the site clearly mentions, as this report on Medianama also points out, that you will need prior permission before linking to it. Categorized under the sub-section Website Policies, the website says, “Prior permission is required before hyperlinks are directed from any website/portal to this site. Permission for the same, stating the nature of the content on the pages from where the link has to be given and the exact language of the Hyperlink should be obtained by sending a request to Name @nic.in.”

We wonder why there’s such a stringent policy of linking to the official website, in this day and age. We understand there might be concerns of people linking to the website through so-called objectionable webpages, but that’s still an exception and not the rule. All this means is that even linking to the website through a tweet might be problematic.

Even if we see the reason behind this policy, there’s no clarity on whom one must write to? What kind of email address is ‘Name @nic.in’? Does one have to personally know someone within the NIC? We tried a bunch of combinations. Most of our attempts just bounced back and hence we decided to mail the guys at NIC who could possibly be our best bet for getting the permission. Having not heard back from them, we cannot directly link to the PM’s website, yet.

What makes this all the more baffling is that for once, NIC has developed an uncluttered, modern website. It didn’t have us jumping between pages and fiddling with the URL to get to the right section. It looks far cleaner than any other government website and with the sections neatly displayed around the main image. The home page has all the possible links making it easier to navigate around the site. But don’t even think about telling anyone about the site on your blog without seeking permission.

P.S.: We cannot link it but if you are still wondering what the website is, follow this link.