Cisco and NISG to host public sector summit 2006

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) Cisco Systems and National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) have come together to host ' connecting India' the 2nd Annual Public Sector Summit on Infrastructure for e-Governance in New Delhi from March 9 to 10.

The summit will provide a platform for government leaders, decision-makers, policy designers and international experts to exchange views.

The participants will also share case studies on common challenges relating to establishing infrastructure for information sharing and collaboration, business models for supporting ICT infrastructure, governance and standards issues and the role of a CIO among others.

The inaugural address at the Summit will be delivered by Union Minister of Communication&Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran.

The summit will have representation from various senior officials from the Central and State Governments in India and experts from around the world.

Speakers for the occasion include Mr Andrew Thomson, Minister of Finance&Information Technology, Govt. of Saskatchewan, Canada, Mr Lawrence Knafo First Deputy Commissioner&Deputy CIO, City of New York, and Mr Jeff Kaplan, Founder&Director, Open ePolicy Group, Harvard University.

Mr Brijesh Kumar, Secretary, Dept. of IT, GOI, N Vijayaditya, Director General, NIC, and R Chandrashekhar, Joint Secretary, e-Governance, Department of IT, GOI will also speak on the occasion.

NISG CEO J Satyanarayana said, ''A concerted effort is needed for the successful implementation of the National e-Governance action plan. The National Institute for Smart Government has been adopting a focused approach with emphasis on the Strategic Planning at the National and State levels and on the Project Development phase of major e-Government projects, adopting Public-Private-Partnership as the preferred model''.

''The Public Sector Summit 2006 will enable sharing of knowledge and experience of countries on the various facets of establishing a robust and scalable infrastructure for e-Government, which would go a long way in increasing the pace of implementation and realising the goals of providing better public services in the country'' he added.

Sudhir Narang Sr Vice President, Government&Service Provider Businesses, Cisco Systems, India&SAARC, said, ''E-governance can profoundly impact the efficiency, responsiveness and accountability of governments thereby, improving the quality of life of citizens, especially the underprivileged. The Indian Government recognises this and has put in place a National e-Governance Plan that will be essential to take the country into the next phase of economic growth and development''.

''Cisco has been collaborating with Governments all over the world in their e-governance efforts including India. Besides, hosting this forum aimed at educating the policy makers, Cisco has also committed to invest 5 Million dollars to NeGP for E-Government lab facilities in each state'' he added.

NISG, Hyderabad is a not-for-profit company incorporated in 2002 with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), Central and State governments being the initial promoters.

UNI ARB SD HT1857