J&K and Haryana sign MoUs to share expertise & experience on initiatives adopted towards providing e-governance
Jammu: With the launch of cyber security policy and digital initiatives for the J&K besides signing of the MoUs by the J&K Government, the 2-day long 25th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) concluded at SMVDU auditorium in Katra. The valedictory session was presided over by Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir while the Chief Minister of Haryana was also present on the occasion.
The event was yesterday inaugurated by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India at Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra. The conference was organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, in association with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir. The theme of the conference was “Bringing Citizens, Industry and Government closer”.
Also, MoUs between J&K and Haryana were signed, on the occasion, through which the two states agreed upon sharing expeetise and experiences on initiatives adopted towards providing e-governance to the masses.
Chief Secretary J&K Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta said under the leadership of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha there are lots of change in the picture of J&K with lowering of incidents of stone pelting and Hartals in Valley. He also highlighted achievements of e-governance initiatives in J&K under the leadership of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. He added that various initiatives especially for making drug free society with the help of digital mission. Under Lt Governor Manoj Sinha leadership, Chief Secretary said, valley based youth played night cricket in Sopore in Valley which shows change in J&K. 
Addressing the valedictory session, Manoj Sinha said “the National e-Governance Conference is a momentous occasion for Jammu and Kashmir and furthers the vision of Digital India of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
“In a short span of two years, we have taken a giant leap to create a user-centric service delivery system and paperless administrative functions through e-Office. Technology has redesigned the rules and procedures bringing accountability and transparency in the system and enabling us to provide services more effectively and efficiently,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor observed that the accelerated digital transformation and adoption of emerging technologies has helped the administration become more open, transparent and develop new delivery models to ensure people can access e-Services conveniently. He said, Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory has recorded more than 2 Crore E-Transactions in October 2022, which is significantly higher than 10.5 Lakh e-Transactions during the same period in 2021.
He said this conference moved J&K towards the new transformation. He added that 80 percent people benefited with digital technology. He said 43 percent women and 72 men are using Internet in J&K. Our mission to provide 500 digital services in next one year, he said adding that more pilot projects are in offing in J&K. In his address, the Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar said there is lot of change in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and supervision of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. ” e-governance, several mechanisms have been introduced to reduce human interference and curb corruption in the state,” he said. “With the help of e-governance, several new systems have been introduced to reduce human interference and curb corruption, thus making the delivery of citizen-centric services hassle-free. Now, every citizen can access services and rights from the comfort of his home,” Khattar said.
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According to the chief minister, only those with ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’ (family identity cards) are eligible to avail the benefits of old age pension and ration cards. “The linking of old-age pension benefits with Parivar Pehchan Patra will not only help the pension beneficiaries in getting all the benefits at their homes but they will also not have to make rounds to government offices. The pension amount will automatically be credited to their bank accounts,” he said. On lines of the old age pension data, information of ration card holders will also be automatically updated, he said.
“Under the new system, the colour category of these cards will automatically be changed if there is a change in the income of the beneficiary,” he said in an official statement. Khattar said the process to verify families with an income of less than Rs 1.80 lakh per annum was underway, as part of the Parivar Pehchan Patra scheme.
Also Read..Manoj Sinha highlights J&K’s digital potential
He said we distributed thousands of loan sanction letters under Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana. The conference was attended by over 1,000 delegates. The conference was a forum for discussion on some of the digital innovations and technologies that will play an important role in governance over the next decade to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
Discussions emphasized on digital governance across the “whole-of-government,” the digital economy, strengthening the start-up ecosystem and job creation, modern laws to promote national growth and protect citizens’ rights, and so on. The conference would give a boost to the country’s e-governance initiatives by allowing civil servants and industry leaders to showcase their successful e-governance interventions in improving end-to-end service delivery. The national awards for e-governance (NAeG) were given to 18 e-governance initiatives at the central, state, and district levels, as well as academic and research institutions and public sector initiatives, in five categories. There are nine gold and nine silver awards. During the event, an exhibition was held to highlight India’s achievements in the field of e-governance. Senior secretaries from the Government of India including V Srinivas, secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances; Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, Government of Jammu and Kashmir also addressed the conference.
