In a bid to deliberate upon on Chandigarh’s digital journey and the efforts of its Administration in bringing more and more services under e-governance, a day-long Digital India Conclave Chandigarh was held on Thursday.
Hosted by Chandigarh UT Administration in association with Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, the conclave was participated by who’s who of Chandigarh and neighbouring States.
“Chandigarh has started its digital journey to bring in more transparency and speed in delivering government services by a single click, and stands at the top in the country in terms of per capita digital payment transactions with a score of 18.5 transactions per person,” said Jitender Yadav, Special Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Chandigarh Administration, who was the Programme Chair of the conclave.
“We have started the concept of eSampark centres, whereby we have been able to provide citizen-centric services right at the doorstep of people. Today, citizens can directly access various government services through these centres,” he added.
Chandigarh Mayor Devesh Moudgil, on the occasion, emphasised upon the growing fondness of digital services among citizens.
While moderating a session on Smart Cities in the era of Digital India, Kamal Kishore Yadav, Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, said: “Based on a strong e-governance foundation and various initiatives under the Smart Cities Mission, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation seeks to bridge the existing digital divide in government service delivery to its citizens.”
Earlier in the day, the Digital India Conclave Chandigarh was inaugurated by Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in the presence of State’s IT Minister Vijay Inder Singla.
Stating the Government of Punjab is open to ideas, Badal gave a clarion call to IT firms for establishing their base in the State.
“IT dept is generating a lot of employment and has a lot of potential. The Government of Punjab is very open to ideas and IT companies can set up their base in Punjab,” the minister said while speaking at the Elets Digital India Conclave, Chandigarh organised by Chandigarh Administration in association with Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd.
During the conclave, the participants held detailed discussions on significant issues like Direct Benefit Transfer and Aadhaar as well.
Vipul Mitra, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour Department, Government of Gujarat, Sandeep Kadam, Commissioner, Dharamshala Municipal Corporation and Ajay Charthankar, Joint Managing Director, Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) also put forward the various digital initiatives in their respective departments and States.
Also present at the conclave from the industry were Lalit K Mishra, Head-Strategic Engagements(IoT), Tata Communications Limited; : Purushottam Kaushik, Head-Strategy, Smart World and Communication BU, L&T Construction Smart World & Communications and Dinesh Shetty, Managing Director, Megasoft Information Systems Pvt Ltd.