MEA launched Twitter Seva for passport and consular services

The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 25 December 2016 launched the Twitter Seva for providing passport and consular services.

The initiative was launched by the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh in New Delhi.

Significance of Twitter Seva

• Twitter Seva seeks to resolve queries related to visa and passport services in a speedy manner.

• The service acts as an umbrella platform for all the MEA-affiliated Twitter handles.

• It is supported by 198 Twitter accounts of India’s Missions and High Commissions abroad and 29 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) spread across India.

• Through its Twitter handle @MEAIndia, the MEA will use this service to strengthen its primary relationship with Indian citizens by providing fast, efficient and real-time public services.

• It will enhance scalability and speed up the process while dealing with requests by Indian and global citizens.

How Twitter Seva works?

• The global roll-out of Twitter Seva will enable simple, timely and transparent response to citizen Tweets in real-time.

• It engages with citizens in the country, non-resident Indians (NRIs), persons of Indian origin (PIOs), tourists and business travellers directly.

• Under this service, both Indians and non-Indians can register their relevant query simply with their tweet with MEA Twitter account.

• The request will activate the concerned office nationally or across the world and address the issue.

Comment

• Similar to the present initiative of the MEA, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched its own version of Twitter Seva on 21 April 2016.

• The Twitter Seva of commerce ministry seeks to address issues and grievances of start-ups, exporters and importers and other stakeholders.

• Twitter Seva initiatives of the MEA and the commerce ministry were launched as part of the Digital India initiative.

• The Digital India initiative was approved by the Union Cabinet on 26 August 2014 to transform Indian economy into a digitally empowered knowledge economy.