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R Chandrashekhar, Additional Secretary- e-governance, Ministry of
Information Technology while inaugurating a three day 'South Asia e-government
Summit' organized jointly by Department of Information Technology, Government
of India by the Society for Promotion of e-governance (SPEG) said, “Co-operation
among South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
in replicating and implementing successful e-governance projects will not only
save on funds but will also help in providing better services to citizens in
respective countries.”
Chandrashekhar said, “Government on its part is trying to provide basic
infrastructure including Internet, window facilitation center and last leg
connectivity for implementation of e-governance, but participation of private
sector and citizens is the major key factor for providing totally transparent
services to the public.”
About one lakh broadband enabled service centers will come up in country by
March 2008 at total cost of Rs 5,400 crore. One center will come up for every
six villages with all e-governance services. Rs 1,600 crore will be put up by
central government rest by the private sector under the public private
partnership (ppp).
He said that for successful implementation of National e-Governance Action
Plan (NEGAP) role of private sector and citizen groups is equally important. The
government services including birth and death certificates, payment of various
bills, taxes, online submission of applications, land and revenue records can be
accessed from a small STD booth or photocopying shop. Wajahat Habibullah, Chief
Information Commissioner,
Government of India, speaking on the occasion said, “For successful
implementation of Rs 23,000 crore National e-Governance Grid Program which
aims at integrating information network at the district, states and national
level to a common e-information grid would help faster and transparent
dissemination of information to the citizens through right to information (RTI).”
Habibullah commended all states for getting their commissioners in place, but
said little was done to actually spread awareness of the Act and citizens'
rights. “Assam, for example, has its information infrastructure in place, but
only 11 complaints in a year and in West Bengal, the officers have been named,
but the city of Kolkata hasn't thrown up even one application. This has to
change.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mary Ann Fisher, CEO-Global Government Industry,
IBM said, “IBM has already invested $2 billion till date in India to set up
its various facilities. Now it plans to invest $3 billion in next three years in
India. Major chunk of the investment will go in e-governance, which is a
critical necessity for India today.”
Vikas Kanungo, Convenor of the summit said that more than 200 experts from
India and abroad are taking part in the three day conference e-governance summit
'e-GovWorld 2006' which will feature discussion of e-government
cooperation mechanisms, pro-poor e-governance strategies and mobile governance
in developing nations from South Asia region.
The main aim of the meet was to create a shared vision for technology and
management strategies by working across organizational boundaries to champion
organizational and technological innovation, promote common interests, and
support the core missions National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).
Information Secretaries of various states including Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal,
Uttranchal, West Bengal, Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pardesh and Utter Pardesh
have confirmed their participation in the secretaries conclave to discuss
e-governance in various states.
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