Union Minister of State for Communication & Information Technology Sachin Pilot addressing the gathering during the inauguration of RIELIT at Meriema, Kohima on Friday (DIPR Photo)
Kohima | September 16 : Union Minister of State for Communication & Information Technology Sachin Pilot today assured to give more emphasis on information technology and connectivity in the north eastern states so that the people get service to help the economy move forward. Inaugurating the Nagaland State Data Centre and launching Aadhaar or Unique Identification Number here at the Directorate of Science & Technology here this afternoon, Pilot said that NE region has lots of potential in information technology where many youth from the region are serving in various private companies in the metropolitan cities.
‘Nagaland making overall progress in e-Governance front’
‘Nagaland making overall progress in e-Governance front’
Pilot also assured that he will give his personal effort to encourage the various private companies to come to the state for recruitment in the IT sector so that Nagaland will be at par with the rest of the country. Nagaland has a huge prospect in the field of IT, he said adding that provided proper vocational training and other IT related are initiated the youth can get the skills for employment. Stating that there are 85 crore mobile user in India where the major user are from urban areas, he stressed on the need to bridge the gap in the rural areas by extending the connection to border, mountains and forests areas in the North East.
He also stated that the UPA government at the Centre is making all effort so the people secure better future and also the youth gets better opportunity and quality of life. Pilot said the Nagaland State Data Centre, established at a cost of Rs. 30. 68 crores, will enable consolidation of services, applications and infrastructure to provide efficient electronic delivery of different kinds of services.
He said under the SDCs scheme, data repositories/data centres are being created in various states/UTs so that common secured data storage can be maintained to serve a host of e-governance applications.
Referring to State Wide Area Network (SWAN) and e-governance in Nagaland, Pilot said that Nagaland was making good overall progress on the e-governance front. He stated that implementation of the SWAN in the state is in an advance stage, adding that the Nagaland SWAN, approved with an outlay of Rs. 21.05 crores, will establish seamless and secured intranet networks connecting state departmental offices and government entities within Nagaland.
Stating that nearly 200 Common Service Centres (CSCs) have also been rolled out in the state, he said that main objective of CSC is to provide public and private services to citizens in their neighborhood at an affordable cost. He urged all stakeholders to ensure connectivity for the CSCs. The Union Minister also stated that the SDCs, SWANs and CSCs were critical components of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to create a citizen-centric and business centric environment for governance.
The NeGP was approved by the government in 2006 with the objective of creating the right governance and institutional mechanisms, capacity building initiatives, core infrastructure, policies & standards and the necessary legal framework for adoption of e-Governance in the country.
Pilot also launched UIDAI Aadhaar scheme by handing over the unique identity number to Vikehiel Khazo, the first citizen in North East to be enrolled under this scheme. Under this scheme, each resident of India will have a unique identity number. Terming it as a “game changing innovation” Pilot stated that through a unique identity for every resident of Nagaland, Aadhaar will ensure improved service delivery and more transparent, efficient and effective governance.
This, he said, along with initiatives such as electronic delivery of services will minimize leakages and reduce corruption. Any resident who satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI is entitled to an Aadhaar number, he said adding that UIDAI is partnering with institutions such as the department of post and public sector banks to achieve a target of 60 crore Aadhaar numbers by 2014.
Over 2.8 crore unique identity numbers have already been issued, he said adding that Aadhaar will make it easier for people to open bank accounts as an Aadhaar letters are accepted as a valid documents for identity proof by RBI. Similarly, other services too can be delivered with the help of an Aadhaar number. “With UIDAI opening up the Aadhaar database to private developers, the government plans to deliver citizen utilities faster and better by linking the Aadhaar number with services offered by mobile phone companies, ration shops and banks,” the Union Minister added.
Earlier, Minister for Planning & Coordination T.R. Zeliang also spoke on the occasion while welcome speech was delivered by A.N.D. Kachari, Chief Postmaster General, North East Postal Circle. Vote of thanks was proposed by K. Kevichusa, Director of Postal Services, Nagaland Division.
He also stated that the UPA government at the Centre is making all effort so the people secure better future and also the youth gets better opportunity and quality of life. Pilot said the Nagaland State Data Centre, established at a cost of Rs. 30. 68 crores, will enable consolidation of services, applications and infrastructure to provide efficient electronic delivery of different kinds of services.
He said under the SDCs scheme, data repositories/data centres are being created in various states/UTs so that common secured data storage can be maintained to serve a host of e-governance applications.
Referring to State Wide Area Network (SWAN) and e-governance in Nagaland, Pilot said that Nagaland was making good overall progress on the e-governance front. He stated that implementation of the SWAN in the state is in an advance stage, adding that the Nagaland SWAN, approved with an outlay of Rs. 21.05 crores, will establish seamless and secured intranet networks connecting state departmental offices and government entities within Nagaland.
Stating that nearly 200 Common Service Centres (CSCs) have also been rolled out in the state, he said that main objective of CSC is to provide public and private services to citizens in their neighborhood at an affordable cost. He urged all stakeholders to ensure connectivity for the CSCs. The Union Minister also stated that the SDCs, SWANs and CSCs were critical components of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to create a citizen-centric and business centric environment for governance.
The NeGP was approved by the government in 2006 with the objective of creating the right governance and institutional mechanisms, capacity building initiatives, core infrastructure, policies & standards and the necessary legal framework for adoption of e-Governance in the country.
Pilot also launched UIDAI Aadhaar scheme by handing over the unique identity number to Vikehiel Khazo, the first citizen in North East to be enrolled under this scheme. Under this scheme, each resident of India will have a unique identity number. Terming it as a “game changing innovation” Pilot stated that through a unique identity for every resident of Nagaland, Aadhaar will ensure improved service delivery and more transparent, efficient and effective governance.
This, he said, along with initiatives such as electronic delivery of services will minimize leakages and reduce corruption. Any resident who satisfies the verification process laid down by the UIDAI is entitled to an Aadhaar number, he said adding that UIDAI is partnering with institutions such as the department of post and public sector banks to achieve a target of 60 crore Aadhaar numbers by 2014.
Over 2.8 crore unique identity numbers have already been issued, he said adding that Aadhaar will make it easier for people to open bank accounts as an Aadhaar letters are accepted as a valid documents for identity proof by RBI. Similarly, other services too can be delivered with the help of an Aadhaar number. “With UIDAI opening up the Aadhaar database to private developers, the government plans to deliver citizen utilities faster and better by linking the Aadhaar number with services offered by mobile phone companies, ration shops and banks,” the Union Minister added.
Earlier, Minister for Planning & Coordination T.R. Zeliang also spoke on the occasion while welcome speech was delivered by A.N.D. Kachari, Chief Postmaster General, North East Postal Circle. Vote of thanks was proposed by K. Kevichusa, Director of Postal Services, Nagaland Division.
E-vision: Optical fiber, broadband connectivity to the unreached
Our Correspondent
Meriema | September 16
Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot, who arrived in the state capital today, announced that as part of the Centre’s e-governance policy, optical fiber is being set up in every corner of the country and that every village panchayat will have internet broadband connectivity within the next two to three years.
As India moves forward and its economy grows towards becoming a superpower, we want Nagaland and the rest of the Northeastern states to be a part of this march towards progress, the Minister said while inaugurating the Regional Institute of e-Learning and Information Technology this evening.
Reminding that IT, e-Learning and skill development are among the major initiatives that the Government of India has pursued, he expressed satisfaction that there is a compatible partnership with the Government of Nagaland.
He also acknowledged that while the Government of India had spend about 42 crores in establishing RIeLIT, the land was given by the State Government free and conveyed his gratitude to the state government.
Later briefly addressing the media, the Union Minister said the UPA Government is moving ahead with its plan to give better IT facilities to the Northeast and other border areas. As part of its policy, it wants to give priority to the Northeast and other remote areas rather than concentrating in mainland and metropolitan cities for which he assured the state maximum assistance in terms of facilities and infrastructure.
The Union Minister further made a commitment that he would personally convince big private companies and firms to come to Nagaland to conduct on-campus recruitment drives for IT-related jobs. Earlier, Advisor IT&C, Vikho-o Yhoshu delivered the welcome address while Commissioner & Secretary K. T Sukhalu also gave a brief address. programme was attended by Ministers, government officials and students of RIELIT.
Meriema | September 16
Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot, who arrived in the state capital today, announced that as part of the Centre’s e-governance policy, optical fiber is being set up in every corner of the country and that every village panchayat will have internet broadband connectivity within the next two to three years.
As India moves forward and its economy grows towards becoming a superpower, we want Nagaland and the rest of the Northeastern states to be a part of this march towards progress, the Minister said while inaugurating the Regional Institute of e-Learning and Information Technology this evening.
Reminding that IT, e-Learning and skill development are among the major initiatives that the Government of India has pursued, he expressed satisfaction that there is a compatible partnership with the Government of Nagaland.
He also acknowledged that while the Government of India had spend about 42 crores in establishing RIeLIT, the land was given by the State Government free and conveyed his gratitude to the state government.
Later briefly addressing the media, the Union Minister said the UPA Government is moving ahead with its plan to give better IT facilities to the Northeast and other border areas. As part of its policy, it wants to give priority to the Northeast and other remote areas rather than concentrating in mainland and metropolitan cities for which he assured the state maximum assistance in terms of facilities and infrastructure.
The Union Minister further made a commitment that he would personally convince big private companies and firms to come to Nagaland to conduct on-campus recruitment drives for IT-related jobs. Earlier, Advisor IT&C, Vikho-o Yhoshu delivered the welcome address while Commissioner & Secretary K. T Sukhalu also gave a brief address. programme was attended by Ministers, government officials and students of RIELIT.
