Connecting Odisha With Fiber Grid

ODISHA HAS BEEN very successful in implementing e-governance initiatives. Today, all the government offices and secretariats are paperless and the state plans to adopt the upgraded version of the paperless office system. Similar steps have been taken in the area of land records digitisation. In an exclusive interview with Mohd Ujaley, CJ Venugopal, Principal Secretary, Electronics & Information Technology Department, Government of Odisha speaks about the focused efforts of connecting all panchayats with the fiber-grid, to enhance inclusiveness.

- Mohd Ujaley

Please give a brief background of your experience with technology projects in the government. What are the key, successful e-governance projects in the state?

I have worked in multiple departments. In each of these departments, the requirements have been different. As far as technology interventions are a concern, the things have completely changed over the years. Most government departments are using some technological tools for their day-to-day work. In fact, technology has become a force multiplier for the government organisations. The improvement that you notice in government to citizen interaction has been possible primarily due to technology.

Our state has been very successful in some of the initiatives, such as the integration of the paperless office system. Today, all the government offices and secretariats are paperless. We are now going to adopt the upgraded version of the paperless office system.

Similarly, our endeavour of e-registration for the government services has been very successful. All land records details, such as registration, updating and mutation are being done online. Also, we have a concept of emunicipality in which municipal services are being provided through online portals and mobile applications. On the administration level, we have HRMS (Human Resources Management System) for managing the employee engagement. These are a few programmes which have shown tremendous success.