Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 334/14

MEETING OF IT MINISTERS AT NEW DELHI

Shillong, August 27, 2014: The first meeting of IT Ministers and Secretaries on various initiatives under the recently launched Digital India programme was held on 26 August, 2014 at New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of IT, Government of India and was attended by Shri A. L. Hek, Minister of IT, Government of Meghalaya, amongst other dignitaries from across the country. The Digital India programme was approved by the Union Cabinet on 20 August, 2014 and was announced by the Prime Minister during the 68 Independence Day Speech this year. The overall scope of this programme is on being transformative that is, in the words of the Prime Minister, to realize IT plus IT is equal to IT, meaning Indian Talent plus Information Technology is equal to India Tomorrow.

The Digital India vision provides the intensified impetus for further momentum and progress for this initiative and this would promote inclusive growth that covers electronic services, products, devices, manufacturing and job opportunities. The Digital India Programme aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy by leveraging IT as a growth engine of new India. Shri A L Hek, Minister for IT, Government of Meghalaya, in his speech on the occasion stated that Meghalaya has already completed one round of the Universal Digital Literacy programme, and planning for the next round through the Common Service Centers. The Universal Digital Literacy programme is one of the important elements under Digital empowerment of citizens of the Digital India programme.

Shri Hek was happy to note that the Digital India programme plans for setting up BPOs for every North Eastern State. Towards this end, the Govt. of Meghalaya has already allotted 70 Acres of land for setting up an IT Park and has engaged a Consultant to prepare the Master Plan for it. The State is eagerly looking forward to the Centre’s active support in building the Technology Park in Meghalaya so that the dreams and aspirations of the young people of the State can be fulfilled. Regarding the e-Healthcare component of the Digital India programme, the Minister stated that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been submitted to the Centre about two years back, and that he are eagerly awaiting for the necessary funds to enable the State to implement this important project immediately.

The ‘Digital India’ programme also mentions about e-Education & free Wi-Fi for schools. The Minister was glad to share that in a couple of month’s time all the Secondary schools in Meghalaya will have access to free Wi-Fi connectivity. The Digital India programme also talks about School Books to be made into e-Books. In Meghalaya, Class 11 and 12 syllabi are already available in Mobile Tablets. Last year the State had distributed 25,000 of these Tablets to Class 12 students, free of cost, and the scheme will be continued this year as well.

In Meghalaya, under the National e-Governance Plan, all the Core IT infrastructures are operational in the state. The Meghalaya State Wide Area Network (SWAN) and State Data Center (SDC) are fully functional. The State has 225 vibrant Community Service Centers (CSCs), popularly called as Rainbow Centers run by rural folks. The State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) is also operational which helps in integrating various e-Government services seamlessly through the Meghalaya State Portal. Therefore, the State is well prepared to leverage and reap the benefits of Digital India programme on its core IT infrastructures.

The ‘Digital India’ programme also mentions about the plan to extensively use Cloud Technology. The Minister shared that the State has already selected an implementation partner to make the State Data Center (SDC) Cloud enabled. Meghalaya, the abode of the Clouds, will perhaps be the 1st State in the country to have its SDC on cloud.

The Digital India Programme, to be completed in four years by 2018, will make government services electronically available to the people by creating a country wide ICT infrastructure for high speed Internet up to gram panchayats, which will provide services such as health and education and ensure digital empowerment of the people through digital literacy. It is believed that Digital India has the potential to transform the existing public service delivery system, improve productivity, create jobs and induce economic activity in areas which were not digitally connected.