Centre plans social media code of conduct for officers amid rising personal posts

Centre is likely to come up with a "social media code of conduct" for its officers

NEW DELHI: Centre is likely to come up with a "social media code of conduct" for its officers, a first such move amid a growing trend among them posting personal reels, videos, stories and opinions, some while on duty. PM Modi has directed top bureaucrats to explore the possibility of bringing out the code. During a recent interaction with secretaries, he also asked ministry of electronics and IT to expedite rollout of "Ek Bharat" portal, a unified service delivery platform for citizens. TOI has learnt that cabinet secretary T V Somanathan, in a communication to bureaucrats this week, has outlined the action points emerging from the meeting. The proposal for the social media code is significant, as in many cases, officers through social media posts glorify their work and position - acts inconsistent with the expected conduct of govt employees. Some senior serving and retired officials said there is a dire need for this, considering there is no such code at present, except conduct rules, which were framed at a time when there was no social media and, hence, don't contain specific provisions for this.

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The need for "Ek Bharat portal" has been felt considering citizens need to log into multiple websites for availing govt services and remember usernames and passwords. Once operational, users need just one username and password to access all govt portals for services. Officials said a few rounds of meetings have been held among departments. As per Somanathan's communication, PM has also asked secretaries to work for collective goals as part of the "whole of govt" approach rather than defending narrow departmental interests.

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