Got SMS, it could be from the government

New Delhi, Jun 14: India has been at the forefront of information technology revolution and it was indeed a pity that the government did not lap up technology earlier. However all that is set to change, as in an apparent sign of becoming tech savvy the government is mulling to use bulk SMS, mobile telephony and Internet to inform the citizens of the ccountry of anything it feels they need to know.

Getting past the digital barrier, the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity has decided to use the newer methodologies of communication to spread public messages. Earlier, the preferred mediums were newspapers, television and radio.

Media reports inform that the publicity wing of the government is already on the look-out for websites that see higher traffics, to put up advertisements. Alongwith that it is also in the process of identifying bulk SMS providers to send out official messages.

It is anybody's guess as to why is the government resorting to these methods. The simple thing is numbers. There are 70 crore or more mobile phone subscribers in the country and unlike newspapers and television they do not have to spend on accessing information through SMS. Moreover, a SMS is more likely to be read than newspaper advertisements.

However, before the service becomes operational, there will be a test run for three months. So, keep an eye, because the next time you receive a SMS, it could be from the government and might be impacting you in some way or the other.

OneIndia News