report
13th National Conference on e-Governance February 18 -19, 2010, Birla Auditorium, Jaipur
On a bright, sunny day in Jaipur, the 13th National Convention on eGovernance was inaugurated by the state Governor Ms Prabha Rau, flogged by the state Chief Minister Ashok Gahlot, union ministers Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, and Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State, Prime Minister Office. The conference was organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms, Pensions and Grievances, Government of India, in collaboration with Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India and Department of IT, Government of Rajasthan. Delivering the keynote address, Ashok Gahlot drew home the point that the development in science and technology and the economy would not be worth till it reaches to the common man. Recalling Rajiv Gandhi’s vision of India entering in 21st century as a developed country, Gahlot assured that the state is moving in the right direction. He stated that Rajasthan, being spread in a vast geographical terrain, would utilise eGovernance for eliminating the limitations of long distances that citizens cover to access the government services. Apprising about the circular issued on resource allocation on e-Governance to each of the government departments in the state, Gahlot said the state government has made mandatory for each department to allocate 3% of the budget of a plan on e-Governance. Conceding the capacity building in government as a big challenge, Gahlot said the administrators have to take the pain of getting friendly with new technologies, so as to provide services in time to the citizens, in full cognisance of their convenience. Comparing the penetration of Internet and mobile phones across India, Prabha Rau said that given the mobile phones penetration in the country, with users
Ms Prabha Rau, State Governor, inaugurating the 13th National Convention on e-Governance
numbering more than 500 million, it offers platform for reaching out to the citizens. She noted that access and affordability are two critical factors for the greater acceptance of technology. She also underlined the usage of mobile phones in promoting Financial Inclusion. Rau said that while Information and Communication Technology (ICT) could be used for educating and training the young population, it could connect the senior citizens of the country to government services and to their near and dear ones. Taking note of the inconvenience caused to the citizens due to delay in delivery of several government to citizen services, Sachin Pilot said the prime reason is the inability of the government departments to completely digitise and automate the processes. IT must not be limited to the use by the government departments in metros but also by the person residing in the country side. ICT can bring in transparency and accountability in the administration, working and day to day lives.
The minister said that even in the time of global economic slowdown, the Indian IT export market grew to $ 60 billion and the domestic market grew to $13 billion. In the coming years, the IT sector will open employment opportunities for one lakh people. While e-Governance drive goes deeper into the country, there is also need for having focus upon cyber security, he pointed. Pilot also ensured the states governments of complete support from the Centre in implementing e-Governance. Prithviraj Chavan put forth the relevance of the annual conference on eGovernance organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Speaking about the e-Office project, he said that it enables government process re-engineering in Government to Government (G-2-G) interface. Jitendar Singh stated that the popularity of state of Rajasthan was no longer limited to the sand dunes, instead it is increasingly being recognised as the silicon valley of the country. He spoke about the state’s initiative of allocating egov
March 2010
37