By Bharat Upadhyay
New Delhi, Jun 23 (IANS): Who says only US President Donald Trump uses two smartphones and treats Twitter as his typewriter? Several key ministers in the Narendra Modi government are quite tech-savvy and are currently using best-in-class Apple and Android-based smartphones to remain active on various social media platforms.
Led by gadget lover Modi who is on Apple family of devices, his second-in-command and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is currently using a brand new Apple XS.
When it comes to official work, the MP from Gandhinagar uses both Facebook and Twitter to keep up with his team on daily workloads, sources told IANS.
Shah currently has 14 million followers on Twitter.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan uses two smartphones -- one iPhone and another Android-based device. He frequently uses WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to remain updated and track all the official work. At present, Pradhan has 1.1 million followers on Twitter.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is active on both Facebook and Twitter.
The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur in Maharashtra, Gadkari likes Twitter and Facebook to track routine official work. He frequently uses both the apps to monitor his team, sources told IANS. Gadkari currently has 5.15 million followers on Twitter.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has one word to describe her social media profile: Twitter.
With 2.23 million followers on Twitter, she is actively using Twitter to connect with the government officials and people to promote the work done by her ministry and Prime Minister Modi.
Minister of State for Steel Faggansingh Kulaste is also utilizing the power of social media and is active on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. He has two phones at present.
According to sources, Kulaste is using one iPhone and a Samsung keypad phone. He often uses the devices to connect with the public and office workers via WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook and track recent activities.
Apart from the cabinet ministers, Lok Sabha MP from North-East Delhi and BJP's Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari has an iPhone and frequently uses social media apps. Tiwari has 7.65 lakh followers on Twitter.
In 2018, Modi was seen sporting Apple iPhone 6 series devices during China and Dubai official visits. Admitting his fondness for gadgets, the Prime Minister only uses top-end Apple devices apparently for security reasons.
Modi's 'Digital India' initiative has seen a spurt in smartphone usage in India.
With 48.2 million followers on Twitter, Modi has more than 110 million followers worldwide across social media platforms, ahead of Trump who has over 96 million followers globally.
Under Modi's leadership, India became the second largest mobile phone producers in the world in 2019 from just two mobile factories in 2014 to 268 mobile and ancillary manufacturing units at present.