Experts discuss ways for using ICT to empower common man

Panchkula, Feb 8 (UNI) IT experts across the country today deliberated upon the ways to utilise the strides in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to empower the common man during the 11th National Conference on e-Governance held here.

Steps like prioritisation, process re-engineering to take key stakeholders along and standardisation of citizen services would contribute in enriching the quality of citizen data and provide common and intuitive user-experience, the participants emphasised on the second and concluding day of the conference.

Capacity building was considered an essential factor for both people in government as well as the end-users to make integrated delivery of services a success in the conference which had 'Integrated Citizen Services- Issues and Challenges' as its theme this year.

There was a need for the government agencies to ensure that the social benefits envisaged reach the right segments of population and for this, availability of a centralised view of citizens was also necessary, it was stressed.

In the deliberations held on using ICT for education, creation of infrastructure and the issue of connectivity backed by content was considered necessary. Building capacity for teachers and students alike was considered key to making this a success.

The session on health emphasized the need for using ICT for better management of health services. The need to use ICT on a centralized mode to roll out, monitor and analyse rendering of services, manage and maintain medicines, quality of services, disease surveillance and effectively reaching out through telemedicine etc.

were discussed.

The session on ICT for agriculture covered a number of points where technology could be used effectively. The need for using ICT to streamline value chain from inputs to managing the whole supply chain, improving market access and prices, providing seeds, weather patterns, monitoring pesticide residues and quality for competing in global markets were discussed.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Communication and IT, R Chandrashekhar presented the current status of the 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) designed to bring public services to the doorstep of citizens, under the National e-Governance Plan.

Of these, 27 MMPs, 2 MMPs namely MCA21 and Pensions have already been completed and are continuously being enhanced based on user feedback, he said.

The two-day Conference was held here under the joint auspices of the Department of Information Technology and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Central government and the Department of Information Technology, Government of Haryana.

An exhibition showcasing various e-Governance initiatives was also organised at the venue.

The inaugural session yesterday witnessed the presentation of 24 National Awards for e-governance for exemplary initiatives. A Compendium was also brought out on the occasion comprising of the 12 best papers on specific themes. The e-Readiness Assessment Report 2006 was also released.

UNI JN PDT HT1834