CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Wednesday decided to expand its social media outreach by setting up 15 expert social media teams for disseminating information about coronavirus in an effective manner.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved an annual budget of Rs seven crore for these teams, which will be constituted by engaging professionals and experts in the field, according to an official release here.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the move was vital for expanding the state's reach and strengthening the PR Department's efforts to disseminate information about the pandemic in an effective and result oriented manner.
The Cabinet felt that since certain departments of the state government have a high level of interaction with the public, it was essential that all important information about COVID-19 and preventive measures to combat it, should be regularly highlighted on social media, said the release.
The outsourced social media teams would help bridge the gap between these departments and the public at large.
In order to cater to the departments' requirements, the Cabinet gave nod to outsource the services to 63 social media professionals/experts -- a media manager, two assistant media managers, 15 digital media executives, 15 video editors, 15 graphic designers and 15 content writers for one year.
It was felt that to keep pace with the fast-paced changes in the field, recruitment of professionals for long periods of service was not feasible.
Besides creating awareness among people about precautions, norms relating to the pandemic, the teams would also help in countering the spread of misinformation by providing credible and updated information to them on a regular basis.