The government's attempts to project Narendra Modi's decisive approach to dealing with the Tamil Nadu floods prompted unexpected humour on Thursday, when the official communications agency posted a digitally altered image of the prime minister's aerial survey of the region.

With Tamil Nadu reeling under the impact of unprecedented rains, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spontaneously jetted down to Chennai to take stock of the situation. The Press Information Bureau posted a tweet around 5pm with an image of the prime minister looking out the window of his plane. As was to be expected in cloudy skies, there wasn't much to see outside. But a couple of hours later, the bureau posted another, very similar image, this time with the flood waters on the ground clearly visible.

The altered image was soon deleted, but not before social media could pour scorn on the government's official communication channel. But it elicited an active discussion on social media.