Hovering clouds in the sky have been a source of eternal joy and symbolised romanticism, since time immemorial. However, with the changing times, some more shades of Cloud have emerged on the horizon. What had been known for storing just the rains previously is also said to be storing digital data these days – a ‘natural’ object has also put on the ‘virtual’ hue.
The virtual Cloud, in which storing and accessing data and programmes over the Internet instead of PC’s hard drive is possible, is fast being adopted by both governments across the world as well as businesses for its cost-effectiveness, security of data, ease of accessibility, environment-friendliness and much more. The biggest advantage of Cloud Computing remains that it does away with the requirement to have individual/separate infrastructure for data storage or analysis.
In a geographically diverse country like India, Cloud Computing has added a whole new dimension to the concept of governance, as it can facilitate delivery of a large number of citizen-centric services in remote areas, which cannot be easily accessed physically.
Following the launch of Government’s initiatives, like Digital India and 100 Smart Cities, there is an increased need for adoption of Cloud technology. That being the reason, the Government is shifting more and more of services to its own Cloud, MeghRaj, which is shared by not just the Central Government departments, but also by the departments of several states. At present, it has 241 government users.
This issue of eGov magazine is designed to give you an insight on the phenomenon of Cloud Computing not just in the Indian context but also globally. A series of interviews and write-ups by authorities in the domain present a 360-degree perspective of how the technology is revolutionising almost every sphere of human action.
Besides, this issue also brings to you a detailed report on how the State of Andhra Pradesh has set a benchmark in eGovernance, which remains elusive for most of the other states, to date. Digital governance initiatives like ‘ePragati’ and ‘eCabinet’ set the State apart from others. Under the leadership of a tech-savvy and digitally-agile Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra already boasts of about one million sqft of incubation infrastructure available in Vizag, Kakinada, Tirupati and Anantapur, and another 3,00,000 sqft of space in the vicinity of the Vizag startup village is on the anvil.
In addition, we have also tried to gauge the mind of stakeholders and experts on India’s digital property that is driving the nation towards a brighter tomorrow. They talk at length about the way forward for the country vis-à-vis digital initiatives of the incumbent government.
Hope you like the packaging.