During a Cabinet meeting on July 24, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed his Council of Ministers to enhance their presence and activity on Instagram. The directive emphasizes leveraging short-form videos and Reels to effectively connect with India's youth, particularly Gen Z and millennial audiences.
Modi highlighted a significant shift in content consumption patterns, noting that traditional, long-form communication is losing traction among younger demographics. These groups increasingly consume information through brief, visual formats, making platforms like Instagram crucial for public outreach.
Strategic Shift in Digital Communication
The Prime Minister surveyed his colleagues on their digital footprint, specifically inquiring about their active use of Instagram, one of the world's most popular social media platforms. He advised ministers to tailor their content to resonate with younger audiences, ensuring key policy updates, welfare schemes, and national initiatives reach citizens where they spend most of their time online.
This strategic move follows a remarkable surge in Prime Minister Modi's own Instagram followers. A late-night direct message delivered via a selfie video, addressing students amidst the NEET paper leak controversy, garnered approximately 1 million new followers overnight. The video, captioned "More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow's Cabinet!", accumulated over 271 million views, 15 million likes, and 1.3 million comments, pushing his total follower count to 102 million.
Addressing NEET Concerns on Social Media
In the video message, Prime Minister Modi sought to reassure affected candidates and parents directly, acknowledging the pain caused by examination irregularities. "I know that paper leak is not an ordinary issue. It is very painful for lakh of students and their guardians," he stated, detailing the government's response and immediate priorities.
The push for increased digital engagement also comes amid ongoing fallout from the NEET paper leak. On the same day, leaders from the CJP (Citizens for Justice and Peace) met with Union Minister JP Nadda and Minister of State for PMO, Jitendra Singh, to present their demands. These included the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, compensation for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide, and the withdrawal of FIRs and legal cases against students. The government has reportedly requested time until the following afternoon to consider the demand for Pradhan's resignation, expressing in-principle approval for compensation and FIR withdrawals.
The Prime Minister's directive underscores a broader governmental effort to adapt its public communication strategy, ensuring transparency and direct engagement with younger generations through modern digital channels.