MUMBAI: Ashwini Vaishnaw made his mark in the Modi 2.0 government by holding two portfolios -  the minister of electronics and information technology as well as that of the railways. Now a third one has been added to his list of responsibilities: in Modi 3.0  that of the ministry of information and broadcasting in Modi 3.0. He replaces  Anurag Thakur who ran the ministry during Modi 2.0, and was kept out of the cabinet, despite winning from his constituency. 

Vaishnaw will have his hands full with the various ministries. But there is some overlap between the MeITY and I&B ministry, especially considering that both are concerned with the ballooning video streaming business with around 60-70 apps in operation.

Public pressure has forced the government to regulate the video entertainment streamers, something which MeiTY has done effectively. With the content ecosystem – which is the preserve of the I&B ministry- coming under his supervision, it could well make things easier for him. 

The minister will have his work cut out for him: on the one hand, Vaishnaw will have  to put in his best efforts to somehow ameliorate the popular perception that the Modi government has been manipulating the media to its own ends, through a carrot and stick approach.  Then Prasar Bharti needs some amount of direction going forward, even as Doordarshan needs to be reinvented and modernised in keeping with the needs of modern viewers who are today spoilt for choice. Decisions on viewership monitoring too have to be taken.