🔊 Take a moment and listen

According to reports, the Planning Commission is working on firming up a draft UIDAI bill which will allow residents to seek unique identification or Aadhaar number anytime, anywhere. The authority has already decided to set up one permanent enrolment centre in each district to achieve the objective. The draft bill will allow residents to seek compensation and penalty for delay in getting Aadhar number beyond 90 days. This is a very constructive step, as it will ensure that every citizen gets his or her Aadhar in a timely manner. A Home Ministry’s assessment of UIDAI and NPR projects shows that as on March 31, 2013, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has issued unique numbers to 31.19 crore persons after enrolling nearly 38 crore persons by capturing their biometric details such as finger prints and iris scan in addition to photographs.

The NPR project has captured similar biometrics of 12.74 crore persons. So while a lot of citizens have been covered, there are many others in the country who are yet to get their Aadhar.Maharashtra has been on the forefront of the Aadhar revolution for the last few years. Large section of the state’s population has been enrolled. The state has developed the novel system of holding mega camps for Aadhar enrolment.

In governance, Maharashtra has led the way through programmes such as the Food for Work programme and the Employment Guarantee Scheme, key features of which one can see in the National Employment Guarantee Act. It has also been at the forefront of adoption of technology in governance.The state NRHM office has implemented a revolutionary e-file system and has become a completely paperless office. Everywhere one turns to look, initiatives abound. All across government, technology is being deployed to usher in revolutionary improvements in service delivery, savings in time and cost and increase in general efficiency.

Maharashtra scores not just in governance, but also in private enterprise. The state’s capital Mumbai is the financial centre of India. Almost every major company in India has a Mumbai address. Home to the world’s biggest film industry, the Maximum City drives business, culture and life in the country like few other places can do. This issue of eGov magazine is a special issue that is being launched at the e-Maharashtra – State-Governance Summit. This is the second edition of the e-Maharashtra summit. The first edition of the summit was a magnificent success and this time we are having a summit of two days.
Organised with the objective of discussing the e-Governance scenario in the state and identifying a roadmap for the future, the Summit will also recognise excellence and innovations in e-Governance through the e-Maharashtra Awards. On May 23-24, 2013, we are having the eGov Knowledge Exchange – Srinagar. The two day forum will bring together key representatives from all areas of governance, ICT industry and civil society. We hope to have you at both the events, the e-Maharashtra and the eGov Knowledge Exchange.We hope that this special issue on the Maharashtra will give a good overview of the initiatives being taken up by the state in the e-Governance arena. We look forward to your feedback.

Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter, Instagram.