Microsoft Cloud for Digital Governance Tour Lucknow explores role of cutting edge technology for governance

Microsoft Cloud for Digital Governance Tour Lucknow explores role of cutting edge technology for governance

Microsoft India, in association with Elets Technomedia organised the Cloud for Digital Governance Tour in Lucknow in December 3, 2019. The Summit aimed to explore the role of the technologies like Cloud Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things etc. in the governance of Uttar Pradesh. Participated by the top policymakers across the state along with the leaders from Microsoft India, the Summit created a platform to discuss and deliberate the opportunities and challenges posed by these technologies in the governance sector.

AI and intelligent technologies are becoming all-pervasive today, driving change across businesses, communities and governments. Improving skill sets in AI and the cloud can enable path-breaking innovation and drive the next phase of India’s growth.

The Summit was inaugurated by Ajit Singh Pal, Minister of State for IT & Electronics, Government of Uttar Pradesh and saw participation of representatives from the government, IT & electronics sector and the start-up ecosystem; including Asim Kumar Arun, Additional Director General of Police, Technical Services, ITECCS & UP 112, Uttar Pradesh; Dr Roshan Jacob, Special Secretary & Director, Mining and Geology, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Neha Prakash, Special Secretary, IT & Electronics, Government of Uttar Pradesh & MD, UPLC, Pratik Shrivastava, DDG, NIC and State Informatics Officer, Uttar Pradesh and Manish Prakash, Country General Manager-Public Sector, Health and Education, Microsoft India.

The event opened up a conversation around the need to deploy responsible and faster AI solutions for government services, the need for cyber security to collaborate effectively and the need for taking an inclusive approach towards AI, that caters to various segments-urban, rural and people with disabilities. The forum also showcased how various Microsoft tools such as Teams and Azure can be leveraged effectively for e-governance.

Ajit Singh Pal, Minister of State for IT & Electronics, Government of Uttar Pradesh was the Chief Guest of the Summit. In his special address, he reiterated about the role of the State Government in spearheading the Government of India’s vision of Digital India.

Also Read: “UP’s robust IT infra: A great enabler in fighting COVID-19”

Pal said, “The Government of India’s vision of Digital India is bringing revolution in every sphere and sector of the governance. The Government of Uttar Pradesh is spearheading the projects like Startup India. We encourage the youth to bring forth their innovative entrepreneurial ideas to us, so we can incubate and give shape to those ideas. Moreover, we are also being instrumental in deploying Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, IoT etc. across departments and also include them in the curriculum at the educational institutes. It is our vision to strengthen the governance system through the Digital Infrastructure and march forward towards the Government of India’s vision to launch high end technologies across the country.”

He further stated, “e-kranti has given a knock on our doors. The use of smart phones has become a norm now. Paying bills, online shopping, food delivery, etc all can now be done from the comfort of your home.”


Talking about the role of technology which is deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Police, Asim Arun said, “We are generating a lot of data by monitoring our GPS devices and incoming calls. We are trying to analyse all this data and create a patrol chart so that SHO can make the required changes. We have signed a MoU with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur to achieve this through software,”

Dr Jacob focused on how technology has brought in more regulation and transparency in the mining department of Uttar Pradesh. “The average citizen needs the material we supply. Enforcement has been done accordingly. We have installed digital weighbridges with CCTV monitoring. If they have done overloading, they will have to make payment for the extra load. For monitoring during transit, we have introduced a scanning application which issues a trigger to RTO,” she said.

Neha Prakash, Special Secretary, IT & Electronics, Government of Uttar Pradesh & MD, UPDESCo said “The Government of Uttar Pradesh is taking multiple e-governance initiatives to deliver the e-services to the citizens in a seamless manner. All high volume citizen-centric services are being handled through the e-District portal. It is already integrated with digital locker. Digital locker is an IT-enabled platform. Citizens who subscribe get 1 GB free storage on cloud.”

Manish Prakash said, “Microsoft is deeply invested in the digital transformation of the government eco-system in India. As we work with both the central and state governments across the country to scale AI implementation and cloud adoption, it is vital to equip the ecosystem with the right skills. Today, we are delighted to partner with the government of Uttar Pradesh to bring digital skills/technology to empower the government to accelerate their digital journey.”

The Summit also saw a panel discussion on ’Collaborating Securely for maintaining critical infrastructure with Cyber Security, Trust & Innovation’. Moderated by Deepak Talwar, National Security Officer, Microsoft India, the panel discussion was participated by Mahendraa Modi, Director General of Police, Special Enquiries, Uttar Pradesh and Pratik Shrivastava, DDG, NIC and State Informatics Officer, Uttar Pradesh.

The moderator and panelists discussed some pertinent questions on how technology is playing a crucial role in the security sector, both in terms of cybersecurity as well as physical security. Discussion was also revolved around the need to collaborate in order to achieve the desirable quality of developing indigenous technology.
Technology leaders from Microsoft also delivered insightful technical sessions for the audience. Devesh Shukla, Cloud Solution Lead, Mobile and Collaboration, Microsoft India delivered a demo on Microsoft Teams “There is a difference between collaboration and team work. Team work will always result in some quantifiable goal being achieved, whereas collaboration may not always lead to a tangible result. We build a product, Microsoft Teams, which would be a hub of working in a team format across geographic borders. We also analyse the result of the meetings or the functions being taken up in Microsoft Teams to yield better result,” he said.

Agam Singh Bagga, Koenig Solutions delivers an engaging and interactive training session on Azure cloud fundamentals (Cloud Computing, Azure Core Services, Security, Privacy, Compliance & Trust, Pricing and Support).

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