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Parrikar played editor for MoD’s e-book; ‘In Defence of the Nation’ a hit
Bengaluru, March 31: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar exhibited his editorial skills to perfection while putting together an e-book capturing the tasks, mandate and achievements of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently.
The e-book titled ‘In Defence of the Nation' was released on March 5, fulfilling the requirement of Narendra Modi government, which had asked every ministry to bring out their achievements.
With Parrikar's eye for detail playing the propelling factor, MoD's e-book is said to have overtaken other ministries by a fair margin.
A total of 43 e-books have been brought out by various ministers under PM Modi's command.
Parrikar wanted MoD to follow the Navy model
Sources in the MoD confirm to OneIndia that Parrikar wasn't impressed with the first draft being shown to him.
"He wanted the e-book to be different, packed with facts and figures. He kept on saying that the e-book must be useful for the people of India. He insisted that the final product should be technology-friendly so that people using smart phones and tablets have an easy reading," an official said.
Impressed by a presentation made by the top brass of the Indian Navy, Prrikar is said to have instructed MoD officials to follow the same pattern for the e-book. The e-book's first draft hence came back to the MoD officials with the minister's remarks.
"The minister asked us to take help from the Services, especially the Indian Navy, whose presentations often stood apart from the rest. He was also open to the idea of us taking external help to put together the e-book in an eye-catching and reader-friendly manner," the official said.
NFDC checks in with its expertise
The
next
stop
for
MoD
was
the
renowned
National
Film
Development
Corporation
(NFDC).
"Two
youngsters
Vidya
Mallik
and
Rupinder
Kaur
were
roped
in
to
infuse
new
ideas
to
the
e-book.
NFDC
had
earlier
made
a
documentary
for
Indian
Navy
as
well.
They
began
to
go
through
every
page
and
decided
to
make
the
e-book
visually
more
appealing,"
the
official
added.
The team then began digging into the rich archives of the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR) with the help of the Photo Division under MoD, for photographs.
"The team decided to give a thematic presentation for the front page cover. The book's name ‘In Defence of the Nation' was picked from a list of 15 names shortlisted by MoD," the official added.
50 pages of delight in 60 days
All
through
this
exercise,
Parrikar
kept
a
close
watch
on
the
progress
of
the
e-book.
Many
drafts
went
to
his
office
and
came
back
with
his
suggestions.
The
whole
exercise
took
around
60
days.
"The
idea
to
inset
photographs
and
texts
was
given
by
the
minister.
He
said
that
the
internet
connectivity
in
some
areas
in
the
country
was
poor
and
hence
people
should
not
get
disappointed
while
downloading
the
e-book,"
the
official
said.
A rare grab from the 1962 war showing Indian soldiers walking near Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, too adorns the 50-page e-book of MoD.
Sitanshu Kar, Spokesperson, MoD, said that the e-book will be updated periodically. "This was one of the first directions given to us. In the days ahead, you can find some more proactive measures from the DPR," Kar added.
The e-book ‘In Defence of the Nation' is now hosted on the website of Press Information Bureau.
(The writer is a seasoned aerospace and
defence journalist in India. He is the Consultant Editor (Defence) with OneIndia. He tweets @writetake.)
