What PM Modi can do with a mobile app

PMO invites suggestions. 657 submissions include One-on-one with the youth, solve problems in 48 hours, room for rating schemes, more info on himself besides politics

After Mann Ki Baat, the monthly free-wheeling broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s thoughts on All India Radio (AIR), there’s demand for one-on-one interaction of the country’s youth with the PM through a mobile app. This is among the 657 submissions from the public till Thursday noon, the second day of the competition to submit ideas for how a mobile app can be best used by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Entries can be sent till March 12. The app, in tieup with Google, is meant to connect the PMO with people of the country.

Besides PM’s interaction with the youth to boost their morale, other ideas being considered for the proposed mobile app include a voting button for any new scheme. 

Take for instance, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. There should be a button on the very first page of the app, asking if the scheme will be helpful for India, a contestant writes, adding there should be a comment box for areas of improvements.

Another input is about having five tabs or pages--new ideas/suggestions from the citizens of India; telling PMO about concerns/problems of the people around the country;  broadcasting list of new initiatives and programmes; hosting discussion groups for brain storming on new ideas; and tracking the progress of the suggestions made.

Use of hindi and other regional languages in the mobile app is yet another suggestion. "In India, as we are aware that still a great proportion of country don't understand English, so there should be an option to allow text reading of complete topic in Hindi or other regional language". 

An average citizen does not know what the PMO does, says one of the persons participating in the app contest. He talks of allowing people to sign up by scanning Aadhar code, and the app should have the option to donate to the PM’s relief fund. Another contestant has sought elaborate information on the PM—his profile beyond politics, his political career, duties of the PM, and his achievements. Also in demand is a page on RTI (right to information) that will give details on tours of the PM, list of officers with their contact details.      

The PMO app should have a location map, according to another submission. Any person who might be complaining about or appreciating any ongoing work or programme should be able to reach directly to the PMO office in one go. 

Then, there’s demand for quick resolution of problems through the app. One corner of the app should be devoted to problems people face, and these "should be solved within 48 hours". 

Apart from sending PMO app ideas to MyGov, an interactive platform under the Digital India initiative, there’s plenty of views flying around in the social networking sites too. Among those are suggestions to book appointments for citizens through the PMO app for government services; building a social network for India with separate rooms or channels for different ministries; complaint redressal system; mass communication through push technology on climate conditions (like cyclone alerts) based on the location; progress report on government performance on key metrics.

Yet another voice simply says, "listen to the ideas".