Government to Draft First Social Media Conduct Guidelines for Civil Servants

Prime Minister Modi has asked senior bureaucrats to explore a dedicated social media code of conduct for government officers, responding to increasing instances of officials posting personal reels, videos and opinions during work hours. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan sent a communication to secretaries this week summarising action points from their meeting, including the development of the proposed guidelines. Existing conduct rules, drafted before the advent of social media, lack specific provisions for online behavior, prompting calls from both serving and retired officials for a modern framework.

The initiative is part of a broader "whole of government" approach, encouraging departments to work toward collective goals rather than narrow interests. At the same time, Modi urged the Ministry of Electronics and IT to accelerate the rollout of the "Ek Bharat" portal, a single-sign-on platform intended to simplify citizen access to multiple government services. Several inter-departmental meetings have already taken place to advance the portal's implementation.