State IT Ministers Conference on “Digital India”

The Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad chaired a conference of IT Ministers and IT Secretaries of States / UTs on 26.8.2014 to discuss the ‘Digital India’ programme. IT Ministers from 10 states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Orissa, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh participated in the conference. IT Secretaries and senior officials from the IT Department from 33 States/UTs also participated in the conference. ‘Digital India’ is a new initiative of Government of India, to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The focus is on being transformative to realize that Indian Talent (IT) + Information Technology (IT) = India Tomorrow (IT). ‘Digital India’ is an Umbrella Programme that covers multiple Govt. Ministries and Departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them is seen as part of a larger goal. Digital India programme is to be coordinated by DeitY and implemented by the entire Government. The vision of ‘Digital India’ is centred on three key areas namely, Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen, Governance & Services on Demand and Digital Empowerment of Citizens. Digital Infrastructure as a utility to every citizen includes availability of high speed internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens, cradle to grave digital          identity that is unique, lifelong, online and authenticable to every citizen, mobile phone & bank account enabling citizen participation in digital & financial space, easy access to a Common Service Centre, shareable private space on a public cloud and safe & secure cyber-space. Governance & Services on Demand includes seamlessly integrated services across departments or jurisdictions, availability of services in real time from online & mobile platforms, all citizen entitlements to be available on the cloud, digitally transformed services for improving ease of doing business, making financial transactions electronic & cashless and leveraging GIS for decision support systems & development. Digital Empowerment of Citizens includes universal digital literacy, accessible digital resources universally, availability of digital resources / services in Indian languages, collaborative digital platforms for participative governance and portability of all entitlements through cloud. Citizens would not be required to produce Government documents or certificates, etc. in physical form. Digital India comprises nine pillars, viz. Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology, e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. Each of these components is a complex programme in itself and cuts across multiple Government Ministries and Departments. The Digital India Programme pulls together many existing schemes, which will be restructured and re-focused in terms of enhancing the scope, leveraging emerging technologies like cloud, mobile etc, focusing on transformational process reengineering and process improvements, undertaking interoperable and integrated service delivery based on standards and will be implemented in a synchronized manner. Digital India will also enhance the portfolio of “Made in India” electronic devices, products & services and will create job opportunities for our youths within the country. The deliberations and interactions during the conference were very participative and useful in informing the participants about various aspects of implementation of the Digital India programme. All the IT ministers from states present at the conference made very useful interventions and participated actively in the discussions. Secretary, Department of Electronics & Information Technology; Secretary and Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications and various senior officers of the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology addressed the participants. This conference would enable better coordination between Centre and States to achieve the vision of ‘Digital India’ and digitally empower the country through ICT & e-Governance.