Kohima, May 25: A one day workshop on Citizen Centric e-Governmenance was held at SIRD Auditorium, Kohima today.
Vikho-o Yhoshü, Advisor, Information Technology & Communications (IT&C), Government of Nagaland, inaugurated the workshop.
Delivering the his inaugural address, Sh Yhoshü said that the rising popularity of internet, widespread mobile access and the rapid take-up of social media tools mean that the governments will need to be more connected, innovative and more efficient in harnessing information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver higher, more sustainable public value.
Providing an example of the power of social media, he said, “The news of dramatic operation in Abbottabad in Pakistan first broke out on twitter through a person who unwittingly twitted about the secret operation as it unfolded, before the news was officially delivered by US President Barack Obama hours later.”
He added, “The emergence of new information technologies calls for fundamental rethinking and transformable shifts in the way we look at e-governance. Government must take up the roles of a facilitator and enabler to collaborate with public, private and people in creating new solutions, new businesses and new wealth.”
Informing about the government’s efforts in reforming the service delivery, he said, “To accelerate the delivery of public services, the state government has implemented 25 reforms under the state portal and state service delivery gateway (SSDG) project.” He said that under IT policy the government has asked all departments to implement at least one government-to-citizen service. Slowly, but steadily, other mission mode projects, under the national e-governance plan (NeGP) such as treasury, police, public distribution system, commercial taxes are in the process of implementation, he added.
While delivering the keynote address, Sh Lalthara, Chief Secretary, Government of Nagaland, said that the government is always slow to reforms and resistant to innovation. To address this issue, NeGP is the right solution, which aims to upgrade working of the administrators, and reforms the service delivery system to benefit the citizens, he said.
Referring to the government personnel, he said that the societies are undergoing an ICT revolution and those who refuse to be a part of this, would be left out.
Pointing at leveraging the ICT sector for providing employment opportunities to the local youth, he said, “Providing employment is one of the biggest challenges that state government has been facing.
He also said that use of ICT in government leads to greater transparency. “Through e-governance, we can send files, electronically, and maintain records. The transparency thus achieved results in lesser corruption,” he said.
Sh K T Sukhalu, Commissioner & Secretary, IT & C department, Government of Nagaland, said that successful e-government is more than just deploying hardware and software. “Putting a PC on the desk and rolling out broadband doesn’t lead to better efficiency and higher productivity. It is when these investments are combined with good governance that we can not only achieve administrative efficiency but also make a positive impact on the lives of citizens.”
Elaborating on the implementation status of e-governance projects, he said, “The state has provided video conferencing facility in all the districts. Internet connectivity through WIMAX and optical fibre has been provided to 60 directorates in Kohima. The government has competed implementation of SDC. We have also set up 12 point of presence (POP) under SWAN.”
Talking about the challenges, he said that the lack of internal capacity to drive e-governance projects has been one of the biggest challenges. “As per the IT policy, each department had to constitute an IT task force under the chairmanship of heads of departments which will be responsible for implementation and monitoring of IT programme.”
“In this regard, the government is also considering creating a pool of IT professionals to form an IT-based cadre on the lines of treasury and accounts,” he said.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nagaland-implements-25-reforms-under-state-portal-and-state-service-delivery-gateway/
