KERALA TO AIM 100 PERCENT
DIGITAL LITERACY
Though Kerala already has 100 percent literacy rate, it
will soon have 100 percent digital literacy too, according to chief minister of
Kerala, Oommen Chandy. This will help all state residents to use e-governance
optimally, the CM said. "There is 100 per cent literacy in
Kerala. The aim is to go for 100 per cent digital literacy and considerable
strategic investment in technology and e-governance," Chandy said, while
inaugurating a consultative workshop on the topic, “Citizen Centric
e-Government”, in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. The workshop was organised by
the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) along with
NASSCOM. Chandy said that the e-governance services have now reached 100 per
cent people of the state. "The ambition now is to declare the state as 100
per cent digital and promote the culture of open governance," he
said. Chandy said that the public is free to lodge their complaints
through multiple channels (manually or online, or through call centre).
"Citizens are confident that they will be heard and
they can even track their complaints," he added. According to
Chandy, Kerala government has developed a sustainable model of e-governance.
"There are web-based services and ICT-based call centres; accessibility
has been the primary purpose here," he said. Chandy also
released the first version of the state e-governance roadmap. Delivering
the presidential address, P K Kunhalikutty, minister of IT and industries,
Kerala, said that the state government believes in being ahead of all other
states in the area of e-governance, particularly in the use of technology for
delivering speedy services to citizens."Connectivity is very good in
Kerala as compared to many states. The penetration of mobile is high. The
access to technology for citizens in the state and abroad is also very high;
there is no reason why Kerala cannot become totally e-literate in the
future," he said.
"There are some issues, like integration and
coordination but we are quite confident that e-governance will rise to its next
stage in the state," he added. During the daylong
workshop, the Departments of Revenue, Transport and Police showcased
e-Government solutions implemented by them under the NeGP. The workshop
was organised by DeitY along with NASSCOM.The consultative meet is part of the
50 workshops being organised in all States and Union Territories (UTs) to
amplify the mission and message of the NeGP – "Public Services Closer
Home".With many states in various stages of rolling out public services on
the e-Government platform, the NeGP Apex Committee decided to create awareness
about NeGP initiatives among stakeholders, discuss challenges in delivery of
e-Services, identify state-specific issues and understand emerging technologies
from industry. The first workshop was hosted in the National Capital Territory
of Delhi in July 2011 and the workshop in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) was 22nd
in the series.
Prof.
John Kurakar
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