Jammu- The number of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s followers on his X handle crossed the 100-million mark on Sunday, registering an impressive growth of nearly 30 million in the past three years, officials said.
He is already the most followed head of government on the social media platform globally.
Officials noted that his followers are quite a few times more in number in comparison to most followed opposition leaders like AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Congress’ Rahul Gandhi who have 27.5 million and 26.4 million followers respectively.
Among other heads of government with a large following are US President Joe Biden (38.1 million) and Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Eedogen (21.5 million).
In a post, Prime Minister Modi said, “A hundred million on @X! Happy to be on this vibrant medium and cherish the discussion, debate, insights, people’s blessings, constructive criticism and more. Looking forward to an equally engaging time in the future as well.”
An official said, “PM Modi has more followers even compared to active global athletes like Virat Kohli (64.1 million), Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr (63.6 million) and American basketball player LeBron James (52.9 million).”
“He is ahead of even celebrities like Taylor Swift (95.3 million), Lady Gaga (83.1 million), and Kim Kardashian (75.2 million),” the official said.
He said world leaders often eagerly engage with Modi on social media because connecting with him significantly boosts their own follower base, engagements, views and reposts. This was seen recently in Italy as well as Austria, the official added.
Prime Minister Modi is also an influential presence on YouTube and Instagram with nearly 25 million subscribers and more than 91 million followers respectively.
Since joining X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2009, he has consistently used it for constructive engagement, officials noted, highlighting that he has never blocked anyone.
“He maintains an active and engaging persona, follows numerous common citizens, interacts with them, replies to their messages, and has never blocked anyone. PM Modi has always used this platform organically, without ever resorting to paid promotions or bots,” an official said, adding that it reflects his ability to resonate with a diverse and dynamic audience.
In a post on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “Prime Minister @narendramodi crossing 100 million followers on X is a testimony to how he has revolutionized direct communication. Congratulate PM Modi on reaching this milestone. Confident that his vision will reach many more in the times ahead.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi crossing 100 million followers on his X handle is a proud moment for the country and he has emerged as a global statement, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday
Singh was talking to reporters after addressing the inaugural session of the orientation programme for the fresh batch of MBA students of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at its Jagti campus here.
Asked about Modi crossing the 100-million mark on X the previous day, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said everyone is proud about the milestone.
“The kind of popularity he (Modi) enjoys across the world as the longest serving head of state, most of the other heads of state in other parts in fact look upto him for his advice… he has emerged as a global leader, a global statement, a global counsellor to the galaxy of other heads of state across the world,” he said.
Earlier addressing the students, Singh called upon the students to gear themselves up in order to take the leadership role of India of 2047.
“Youth will be the architects of a developed India when it completes the centenary of its Independence in 2047,” he said, adding the government is making tireless efforts to equip its younger generation with new skills and training and world-class education to mould them into architects of a developed India.
“National Education Policy 2020 brought by the prime minister will contribute to this goal,” he said.
The Union minister said start-ups require strong industry management linkage for their sustainability and institutions like IIM have an important role to play in it.
Singh said most of the successful start-up stories have been possible due to strong industry linkages.
“For example, in Aroma mission, the government became an enabler by ensuring capacity building of those engaged in agri start-ups in lavender and facilitating the market access to spur sale of Himalayan products like lavender-made perfumes and other products,” he explained.
The minister said tapping the Himalayan bio-resources and unexplored minerals along coastal areas can make great value addition to India’s economy and boost ‘Atma-Nirbharta’ (self-dependence).
“India’s coastal states and Himalayan states and UTs like J&K have a lot to offer to the country’s future economy,” he said.
Talking about the aspirational generation, the minister said better things are happening under the leadership of Modi.
“Start-ups are booming and, as a result, new opportunities are opening. Technology has been a great leveller so that everybody from every region has an opportunity,” he said.
The minister said the youth must harness the technology which has created a level-playing field, for societal good while as earlier, the technology was a privilege of a few.
On IIM Jammu’s progress, Singh said in just a few years of its establishment, it has risen to become one of the better ones among the new lot of such premiere institutions of higher learning in the country.
“Beginning from infancy, when we were finding difficulty even to find faculty, it has come a long way in its small journey,” he said.
He said the establishment of IIM Jammu is a significant step towards realising his dream of providing quality education and producing leaders who will drive the nation towards unprecedented growth and development to achieve the target of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
Singh advocated for forging collaboration and synergy among institutions for greater benefit to their students.
“The age of working in silos is over. The era of collaboration is here,” the minister declared, encouraging IIM Jammu, AIIMS Jammu, IIT Jammu and Central University of Jammu to enter into partnership by inking memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on research and development and artificial intelligence.
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