Modi ministers get social media report cards

The review exercise follows accelerated efforts to connect with India’s Gen Z population after last month’s student protests 

India’s federal ministers are being ranked on their social media activity as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government goes all out to connect with the country’s youth, after student protests last month gave a nasty surprise to a government and party that once dominated online narratives.

The rankings, based on the performance data for the ministers’ social media accounts, were shared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Modi on Wednesday, reports said. The data, and the review’s results, were not shared publicly. 

Local media reports said the exercise was not a mere counting of followers. Rather, the activity of the ministers across social media platforms Instagram, X, and Facebook between May 1 and August 15 was reviewed, with the aim to assess the quality and reach of communications. Some reports said LinkedIn posts were also included in the review.

Metrics such as frequency of posts, engagement, likes, and the interactions generated across the platforms were used for the grading, with the ministers being presented with a scorecard. Modi reportedly came up top in the review.

Modi, 75, has about 107 million followers on X, where he has posted regularly on policy initiatives by his government, development schemes, and even congratulatory messages to the citizens and foreign leaders. 

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His Bharatiya Janata Party controls a formidable social media machine, led by a so-called IT cell chief. But the student protests, spearheaded by India’s satirical, youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, exposed the limitations of that playbook as young people’s social media preferences change.

Young people aged 15-29, or Gen Z, make up about 28% of India’s 1.4 billion population. They are particularly active on Meta’s Instagram, where reels, short videos, and visual storytelling, rather than text, are key to getting eyeballs. TikTok, a rival platform which is immensely popular among the youth, is banned in India.

As the protests intensified last month, Modi himself posted a selfie message to the students on Instagram, and directed his ministers to post more on the platform to reach the young audience.

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The party’s chief, Nitin Nabin, on Monday effected an organizational shakeup, replacing many people in key leadership positions, including the IT cell chief.