It augurs well for Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir to host 25th National Conference on e-governance, as the Union Territory is credited with a unique distinction of having clinched national level award for COVID-19 Management and Panchayat Development Index at its 24th edition held in Hyderabad on January 7 this year. J&K has gone a long way in the field of e-governance, the single example of its success being effective functioning of the Civil Secretariat, which used to relocate half-yearly on Darbar-Move between the summer and the winter capitals of Srinagar and Jammu. However, the huge digital innovation has brought a real revolution across the globe in general and India in particular with the end objective of empowering the people. In this part of the country, the Jammu & Kashmir e-Governance Agency (JaKeGA), therefore, has been single-mindedly designing and delivering projects under this sector by making available requisite and crucial financial, legal and technical framework. The scheduled event is expected to give new impetus and momentum to the initiative, as the industry leaders, officials besides the other stakeholders will get ample opportunity in the serene atmosphere of the spiritually enriched ambience in lap of Trikuta Hills, the abode of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine on November 25 and 26. The technologies involved in the digital innovation would obviously be discussed threadbare by the experts in the field and all the participants from across the country.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has been a strong votary of e-governance, which he believes, has potential of making the delivery mechanism citizen-friendly and ease the interface between the administration and the people at large. Several initiatives have been taken and many more are in the offing. Having a cursory look on the steps being taken in this regard, the easing of land governance through digitization of land records can be described as a major stride in recent times, which has brought a huge transformation in the lives of common people. The UT administration is bringing more and more deliverables under e-governance. The application of information and communication technology is a powerful tool to improve the functioning of the government(s). Needless to say that e-governance has assumed immense significance for delivering the benefits of economic growth achieved by digilization to all segments of society. J&K Government has constituted an Apex committee for overseeing the arrangements of holding this mega event, which is going to be a crucial forum for the delegates from 28 states and Union Territories of the country besides many others, including the top officials of the central and the state governments, to deliberate and discuss how to carry forward the momentum of the mission so that conclusions could be effectively implemented by stakeholders. The platform, thus available, is hoped to be optimally utilized for sharing experiences, lessons from the previous events, technological developments fast taking place across the world and best practices to formulate appropriate initiatives as per the requirements of the time. This will indeed be a big leap forward in realizing the cherished agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’. Such a phenomenon would, apart from easing the lives of the compatriots, expedite the odyssey of the nation to become Vishwa Guru.