Within 24 hours of posing a vertical angle ‘Instagrammable’ video with a phone telling youngsters protesting against the NEET exam paper leak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (July 24, 2026) advised his own Cabinet colleagues that they needed to be Instagram-ready and reach out to young people.

Presiding over a meeting of the Union Cabinet, where significant tweaks were made to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, to enhance penal provisions for those committing leaks of examination papers, he asked his colleagues as to how many of them had an Instagram account and how often they used it.

Also Read: Jantar Mantar protest LIVE

Reach out to demographic

Speaking about the age profile of the protesting crowd at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, he is reported to have said that there was a need for Cabinet Ministers to engage with that demographic on the platform they used, issuing reels, etc. He said that crores of youngsters were on the platform every day and that his colleagues in the government needed to proactively engage with them on the work they did and even do interactive live sessions.

Mr. Modi’s own following on Instagram has reportedly gone up by a million since last night after he posted his video promising strict action against exam paper leak mafias. The video was ‘Instagrammable’ both in format and length, being less than three minutes, wherein the Prime Minister said, “I gave instructions to the departments for the fast-track court. Today, the departments worked hard and gave me the approval late at night. Tomorrow, there will be a discussion in the Cabinet. After the suggestions of the Cabinet members, it will be given its final form. And from Monday, when the second week of Parliament starts, we will try to get that Bill passed as soon as possible,” he said.

Published - July 24, 2026 10:52 pm IST