Screenshot of the homepage of the CEO Nagaland website taken on December 9.
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | December 9
After narrowly missing the top spot last year, a focused and deliberate effort at course correction has propelled the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nagaland website to emerge as the top performer among government websites in the State. Most noticeably, the CEO Nagaland’s score was affected due to the lack of an Annual Administrative Report (AAR) as well as the relatively ‘dated’ Right to Information (RTI) suo motu disclosures.
This year, while the bilingual website has been noticeably revamped and the election department has posted the latest AAR and RTI (2023-24), it scored 43 points out of a possible 50 points. Additionally, the “About Us” section and other departmental information are resourceful. While CEO Nagaland has always had a good social media presence, it was found most active on Facebook and Instagram, and less so on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.
Documentation has also been a strong point for CEO Nagaland, particularly election achievements and reports. However, some documents that were available previously seem to be missing. For instance, the available option in the ‘Election Archive’ did not go beyond 2003 when The Morung Express checked. A similar issue was found in the ‘Election Reports’ section. The ‘News & Updates’ section was among the most current, though the ‘Notices & Tenders’ section was lagging behind.The assessment was based on six parameters: Departments’ Own Information; Data Quantity and Quality; Suo Motu Disclosures; Public Notices & Tenders; Latest News & Updates; and Direct Link to Social Media (see Background & Methodology).
Not far behind, with 41 points, was the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR), the State’s own ‘news agency’. As expected, in terms of ‘News & Updates’ and seamless social media integration, DIPR scored full points, while ‘Data Quantity & Quality’ was robust. Its flight to the top position was hindered by the lack of a recent RTI and minimal notices & tenders. It was the only website with a working multilingual option.
The Taxes department, the top performer in 2023, suffered a setback with no major updates since July 2024 and is yet to embed social media accounts into its website. Of the six parameters, the Department of Taxes’ website obtained full points in three, while the scores were top-end in others, except for the social media metric. While its AAR was dated, it made up for it with an Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR) as well as the latest RTI.
Another consistent performer, Economics & Statistics, saw its ranking fall out of the ‘Very Good’ category due to an older RTI and the lack of social media links. Its AAR, however, was from 2023-24, while the ‘News & Updates’ section was slightly dated.
Some noticeable changes
In comparison to 2023, five websites registered significant improvements in 2024, with Commerce & Industries showing the biggest gain, rising from 15 to 31 points, followed by Skill Development improving from 10 to 25 points, Higher Education climbing from 23 to 37 points, Horticulture advancing from 17 to 29 points, and PWD increasing from 10 to 19 points. Some of the scoring parameters were the inclusion of RTI, AAR, “News & Updates,” and links to social media.The improved Higher Education website, however, includes the RTI under the miscellaneous section, while there was no AAR.
Overall, a total of 24 websites improved upon their ranking from last year, while 15 lost points and five were non-movers.
Departments in ‘Good’ category were Taxes, Higher Education, Economics & Statistics, Water Resources, IT & Communication, Tourism, Geology & Mining, School Education, Fire & Emergency Services, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Social Welfare and Commerce & Industries.
Most linger in ordinariness
Despite such improvements, 75% of the websites (33 out of 44) linger in ordinariness due to a lack of concentrated effort to bring about the required digital governance. (See table)
Of these, 16 were in the ‘Average’ category . These were ‘were - P&AR, Planning & Transformation, Horticulture, PHED, Finance, Transport (Motor Vehicles), Fisheries, Print & Stationary, Skill Development, Power, Cooperation Dept, Urban Development, Prison, Health & Family Welfare, Tribal Affairs and Arts & Culture.The 11 departments in the ‘Below Average’ category were PWD, DUDA, Sericulture, Labour & Employment, Food & Civil Supplies, Rural Development, Soil & Water Conservation, Land Records & Survey, Evaluation, Science & Technology and Home.
Some in ‘Average’ and Below Average’ however saw improvement over last year.
A total of three departments were categorised under the ‘Poor’ category (10 points or below). The Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services, and the Department of New & Renewable Energy earned the same with no major changes since the last assessment in 2023, which saw them lagging behind in every parameter.
Nagaland Government websites: Transparency Status
Department | Dept’s Info (5) | Data Quantity & Quality (10) | RTI/AAR etc (10) | Notice & Tenders (10) | News & Updates (10) | Social Media (5) | Total Score (50) | Remarks |
| 5 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 43 | Latest RTI & AAR (2023-2024); Good documentation and links to various services available. However, some documents available previously esp. election reports were not found. Overall, the website enables seamless and resourceful accessibility; All social media links working; Bi-lingual option |
| 5 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 41 | Excellent updates and seamless social media connectivity; latest AAR (2023-24); Multilingual option; Missed top spot due to lack of latest RTI and minimal notices & tenders. |
| 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 37 | Toppers performers last year, lack of updates since July 2024 and social media accounts affected its ranking. #Wrong links on Nagaland State portal |
| 5 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 37 | RTI 2022 but under miscellaneous section; No AAR, Chatbot (offline) Only YouTube link embedded. |
| 5 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 36 | No RTI update since 2022/AAR upto 2023-24; No social media links. |
| 5 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 35 | Latest AAR & RTI (2023-24); Annual Plan 2022-23; No social media links. |
| 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 35 | AAR 2022-23; Direct link to Facebook & X |
| 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 35 | AAR 2022-23; No RTI; Active social media presence; resourceful |
| 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 34 | Regular updates of activities; RTI 2021; |
| 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 34 | RTI 2015-16; AAR 2022-23: Latest news update November 11. No linked social media accounts #Website not listed on State Portal |
| 4 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 32 | RTI 2022-23; No AAR; FIRE CALL data upto 2023 No linked Social media accounts |
| 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 31 | Latest AAR; Info on recruitment; No RTI; No linked Social media accounts #Wrong link on State Portal |
| 5 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 2014-15 RTI, Latest Post: September 21, 2024 Linked social media accounts not working |
| 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31 | AAR 2021-22; Old RTI but much improvement in other aspects; No social media links |
| 5 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 30 | No change AAR upto 2019-20; APAR 2022 No RTI; OMs and other important resources available. Latest Transfer & Posting circular dated May 20, 2023. Linked social media accounts not working |
| 4 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 29 | No Changes in AAR or RTI status Website not listed on State portal Linked Social media accounts not working |
| 4 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 29 | Marked improvement from previous assessment including latest RTI and AAR Links to social media not working |
| 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 28 | No changes in RTI & AAR; Status of projects unchanged; Links to social media not working |
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 27 | AAR listed but does not open; RTI of four Branch given but not updated No linked Social media accounts |
| 5 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 27 | RTI link not working; Various documents and forms available for downloading; No AAR and social media links #Wrong link on State Portal |
| 3 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 26 | Update RTI &AAR but on cloud/drive; Latest Update September 19, 2023 No social media links |
| 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 25 | RTI upto 2023-24; No AAR but overviews; latest eGazette a available No social media links |
| 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 25 | Marked improvement since last assessment; Links to RTI/AAR given but were not accessible; some technical issue detected; No social media links |
| 4 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 23267 | No changes except updated tender notices; E-services; No social media links |
| 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 23 | Latest notification – August 2024; No AAR; RTI officials listed with contacts; No social media links |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 23 | AAR 2023-24; No RTI; some improvement; No social media links |
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 23 | RTI upto 2021; Some updates since last assessment. No social media links |
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 22 | Same status on RTI &AAR; Still seems to be pre-occupied with COVID-19 No social media links |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 22 | Marked changes in updates but still no changes on RTI and AAR; No social media links |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 21 | No changes in AAR & RTI status; Latest updates upto Sept 2024. No social media links |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 19 | Noticeable changes since last assessment; Latest AAR and some updates but websites still rudimentary. No social media links |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 18 | Apart from some recent posts, no overall changes; No RTI, AAR or social media links |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18 | Latest AAR but outdated RTI; Not much improvement in other aspects; No social media links. |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 18 | Some updates visible but no major changes since last assessment; No social media links |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 17 | RTI official listed, no Sou motu disclosure; No changes in overall status since last assessment; No social media links |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 | No major changes in overall status since last assessment: No social media links #Wrong link on State Portal |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | No changes in overall status since last assessment; No social media links |
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 14 | No major activities since last assessment; social media links |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | Just updates on AAR 2021-22 since last assessment. No social media links |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 13 | Latest post dated Mission July 10, 2024, no major changes since last assessment; No social media links |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Apart from some notifications, no major changes since last assessment. No social media links |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | No major changes since last assessment; No social media links |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | No major changes since last assessment; No social media links |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | No Update on website since March 20, 2027 |
*Link on https://nagaland.gov.in/ not working.
Note: Assessment as of December 9, 2024. The previous assessment on September 10,2024 and updated on September 14, 2023. The Department of Youth Resources & Sports was shown to be ‘Under Maintenance’ last year was still inaccessible when last checked. Among others, while the Department of Planning & Coordination and Arts & Culture were not listed on Nagaland State portal, they are listed here.
