Monitoring centre not meant to control media, says CM Fadnavis

On March 5, The Indian Express was the first to report that the Maharashtra government will set up a media monitoring centre at a cost of Rs 10 crore, which will monitor news coverage related to the state government in print, electronic, social and digital mediums; prepare a report and take action on the spread of negative or misleading news related to the state government.

Fadnavis spoke on a range of issues during the media interaction, including women safety and gender equality. “The Maharashtra government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring women safety. The government is bringing strict laws as well as taking concrete steps to curb cases related to deepfakes and video-morphing,” he said.

The CM added that the government has formed a special committee to look into case of “love jihad”. “Initially we thought that one or two cases were exceptions. But probe found out that it is on a bigger scale. Many girls were duped and action was needed. We have formed a special committee of officials to probe the incidents,” Fadnavis added.

Fadnavis informed about special opportunities extended to women in several industrial clusters to promote entrepreneurship. “Around 10,000 women will be trained in Artificial intelligence with the help of Microsoft. It will help the women to remain on the forefront as future jobs will be connected to AI,” he said.