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Morung Express News
Kohima | November 30
The Fifth e-Naga Summit 2019 was held on November 30 at RCEMPA Jotsoma under the theme “Towards making the State of Nagaland a leader in e-democracy and digital society.” Organised by the Department of Information Technology & Communication, Government of Nagaland, the Special Guest for the inaugural was Katrin Kivi, Ambassador of Estonia to India.
In her speech, Katrin Kivi, Ambassador of Estonia to India reminded that the cooperation between Nagaland and Estonia’s e-Governance Academy dates back to 2015, in which Estonian experts are taking part in the e-Naga Summit for the fourth year in a row this time with the Nagaland government inking an MoU with the Estonian e-Governance Academy.
“The main objective of this five-year agreement is to work together to develop and expand scientific collaboration on setting up e-Governance Academy in Nagaland. I’m sure the cooperation will be carried forward and new ideas emerge from the regular visits and interactions between Estonia and Nagaland,” said Kivi while updating the gathering on the bilateral relation of India and Estonia.
Kivi also emphasized on the positive aspects of e-governance and digitalization which has provided easier access and convenience to its citizens.
On the digitalisation in Estonia, Kivi asserted that such ventures also makes it more transparent and saves time and environment. “As a result of the digital services provided by the government, they say, Estonia saves over 844 years of working time annually and has become a hassle-free environment for business and entrepreneurship. My sincere wish is that all the countries in the world could handle digital transformation in a peaceful manner and benefit the citizens, the environment and good governance,” remarked Kivi.
Nagaland govt doing everything possible to promote IT culture
Mhonlumo Kikon, Advisor, IT&C, Science and Technology and NRE, noted that the theme is worth discussing and viewed that such transformation has enabled transparency, efficiency and delivery of cost effective public services.
“In the 21st Century, a new society is now emerging where knowledge is the primary resources instead of capital and labour. In the 21st Century, the key to success is now relying more on superior technology and out of various kinds of technology, IT is now used in every area of human activity and we cannot live without it,” stated Kikon citing that the success of software business in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai etc are indication of how economy can grow fast by employing the latest IT technology.
There is a need for young people in Naga society to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurship provided the right opportunities and platforms, for which Kikon felt that the e-Naga Summit is one platform where young people can learn from the resource persons and experts with vast experience and knowledge.
“With the right policies and investments in human capital, we can empower young people to drive socio-economic development and boost our economy. I would like to say that the Government of Nagaland will also do whatever is possible to promote IT culture and digital society to boost our economy and socio-economic development in our State,” assured Kikon.
In this regard, Kikon pointed out the various efforts of the government such as the implementation of the Aadhaar based Biometric Attendance System for all Government employees in the Nagaland Civil Secretariat and in all government departments.
Kikon informed that the Department of Information Technology & Communication developed the Common Online Scholarship Portal for all the scholarship providing Departments and till date more than 53,000 students have applied for scholarship through the common online portal. The Department of IT&C had developed the Online Inner Line Permit (ILP) which was launched by the Chief Minister where 800 tourist ILPs has been issued through the portal.
Acknowledging the efforts of the Nagaland Government in the field of e-governance, Dr Lüa Hanni, Senior Expert on e-Democracy, e-Governance Academy of Estonia, stated that leadership matters especially if one wants to implement changes in the work of public administration.
Relating the history of Estonia after restoration of the independence in 1991, Dr. Hanni said, “That time a question stood in front of us -how to overcome poverty and backlog left us by a totalitarian soviet regime. The answer was- Let's use modern technology to build up well functioning democratic society. Now Estonia is very often referred to as e-Estonia, an example of modern digital state which is of interest throughout the world. The lesson we learned is that nothing is impossible if you have clear vision what you want to achieve.”
This year's e-Naga summit discoursed on 'Role of Social Media in policy formulation for Government', 'Role of e-Democracy in the future of a State', 'Role of technology in promotion of digital society' along with a workshop on social media usage for government officers.
The event sponsors included Kohima Smart City Mission, CISCO, SYMBIOS, STS, Infinity and Converge systems & Services Pvt. Ltd.
