
Narendra Modi might have a bigger fan following and celebrity status on the Internet,but the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,it seems,carries greater weight in the cyber space. A private firm recently ranked politicians according to the influence their messages on Twitter have on Internet users. In this list,Manmohan Singh has scored better than Modi and Subramanian Swamy,and figures at the second position. He has been beaten to the top slot by his Internet-savvy ministerial colleague Shashi Tharoor.
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Campus and Politics
THE Delhi Universitys switch to a four-year undergraduate programme FYUP seems to be generating a lot of interest in the political class. CPMs Sitaram Yechury has expressed his objections,and BJPs Arun Jaitley has written to HRD Minister Pallam Raju on the issue asking that the switch over be deferred for now. It is now the turn of Congressman Jairam Ramesh to get into the picture. Ramesh,in fact,met Raju on Wednesday to discuss the issue. The Rural Development Minister,however,has not yet taken any position on the DU move,it is learnt. Apparently,he met the HRD Minister only to understand the issues around the programme.
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THE government is looking for a replacement for R N Choubey,director general of hydrocarbons DGHC. A selection panel comprising DoPT Secretary,Petroleum Secretary and Science and Technology Secretary are set to meet soon to decide on the next DGHC. When he was appointed about one and a half years ago,Choubey,a personal choice of the then Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy,was the first IAS officer to be appointed to the post. However,his performance didnt endear him to current Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily,who soon made it apparent that he would prefer a technocrat for the post. The selection panel has been asked to do just that.