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Delivering e-Services in Rural Areas
This year’s National Conference on e-Governance was based on the theme ‘Rural e-Service Delivery: Status and Challenges’ By eGov Bureau
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he 14th National Conference on e-Governance was organised on 10th11th February, 2011, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, under the joint auspices of the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Government of India, Department of Information Technology, Government of India and Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra. eGov magazine was the official media partner of the conference.
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Governor of Maharahstra, K Sankaranarayanan, inaugurated the two-day annual event. Other dignitaries present during the inaugural session include: Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan; Minister of State in PMO and Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy; Maharashtra Minister of State Prof Fauzia T Khan; Secretary DARPG, Government of India, R C Misra and the IT Secretary of Maharashtra, Dr Nitin Kareer. Senior officers of the Central Government, as well as the State Government; District Magistrates, policy
makers, representatives from the academia, technical experts, NGOs and representatives from the private sector participated in the event. This year’s conference – the 14th National Conference on e-Governance was based on the theme “Rural e-Service Delivery: Status and Challenges,” which aimed at understanding the introduction and penetration of e-Governance in rural India and providing significant ICT solutions to improve the delivery and accessibility of e-Services. The Conference also acted as a reality check to ascertain the outcome of the services rendered in order to achieve the intended objectives of transparent, effective, responsive and accountable system of governance. The eminent panelists also discussed on the sub-themes: Enabling Business Environment for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs; e-Governance in promoting Rural Entrepreneurship; Enabling e-Panchayats; and ICT in Agriculture (Focus Sector). In the inaugural session, National Awards for e-Governance 2010-11 - in seven categories were given away to the winners. The awards in Gold, Silver and Bronze were given to different organisations to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives. These initiatives pertained to Government to Government (G2G), Government to Citizen (G2C) or Government to Business (G2B). An exhibition showcasing the capacities, products and e-Governance initiatives of the Government and private sector was also inaugurated by the Governor of Maharashtra. His Excellency K Sankaranarayanan, Governor, Maharashtra and Prithviraj Chavan gave away the awards for the year felicitating the best use of ICTs in the field of Governance. Below is the category-wise listing of winners:
Category 1: Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering Gold: Processing of Income Tax Returns at Centralised Processing Centre, Bangalore Directorate of Income Tax (Systems), Income Tax Department, Government of India. Silver: e-Stamping for MCA Services, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. Bronze: Aasthi (GIS-based Property Tax Information System), Directorate of Municipal Administration, Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka.
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Category 2: Exemplary Re-use of ICT-based Solutions Gold: Panch Tantra – Gram Panchayatha Online System, Rural Development and Panchayatha Raj Department, Government of Karnataka and NIC Silver: Geoinformatics in Implementationof Forest Rights Act, 2006 in Maharashtra, Tribal Research and Training Institute, Tribal Development Department, Government of Maharashtra. Bronze: e-grantz, Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Government of Kerala. Category3: Outstanding Performance in Citizen-centric Service Delivery Gold: SWAGAT–State-wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology, Chief Minister’s Office, Gujarat. Silver: Aarogyam, District Health Society, Bagpat & J.P. Nagar, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Bronze: Tele Samadhan– Call Centre for Citizen Facilitation and Grievances Redressal, Madhya Pradesh State Electronic Development Corporation, Department of T, Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Category 4: Innovative Use of Technology in e-Governance Gold: BTRAC 2010, Bangalore Traffic Police, Government of Karnataka. Silver: Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), Gujarat State Watershed Management Agency, Department of Rural Development, Government of Gujarat. Bronze: e-Disaster Management Cell, Collector Office, Gadchiroli, Government of Maharashtra. Bronze: e-Governance, Computer Depart-
ment, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Government of Gujarat.
Category 5: Innovative Use of ICT by PSUs for Customer’s Benefits Gold: Financial Inclusion, Punjab National Bank, New Delhi. Silver: Enhanced National Train Enquiry System (ENTES), Centre for Railway Information Systems, Indian Railways, Government of India. Bronze: Electronic Fund Transferring System, Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited, Housing Department, Government of Karnataka.
Category 6: Best Government Portal Gold: Indian Customs EDI Gateway Project (ICEGATE), Directorate General of Systems & Data Management, Central Board of Excise and Customs, Government of India. Silver: Portal Project of Geological Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, Government of India.
Bronze: National Data Warehouse of Official Statistics, Computer Centre, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.
Category 7: Specific Sectoral Award- Focus Sector–Agriculture Gold: AGRISNET – Agriculture Information Service Network,Agriculture Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. Silver: e-Krishi, Kerala State IT Mission, Department of IT, Government of Kerala. Bronze: e-Auction,Tea Board of India, Government of India. Over the years, the National Conferences on e-Governance aims to raise awareness of the opportunities offered by ICT for economic and social development. The Conference provides a national forum for leaders and representatives of government, civil society, industry and academicians to exchange ideas, experiences and best practices in implementation of e-Governance projects.
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