Digital transformation is a necessity in government for delivering citizen-centric services

Even sort of a decade government-related back, getting any paperwork done—be it banking or registering a new business— meant taking days off, haggling with officials, or resorting to touts or bribes. So much so, that “government-related work” is often used as a synonym for being slow and inefficient. To address this very issue and make government services transparent, the National egovernance Plan (NEGP) was launched in 2006, with a vision to make all government services accessible to the common resident in his locality, through service delivery outlets. More than 10 years since, the Union Cabinet in its meeting in March 2015, approved a digital overhaul of government services named “e-kranti” or the National e-governance Plan 2.0. This project envisions reforming the government through technology and electronic delivery of services—which continues to be one of the prime areas of focus in the Digital India initiative. One such example of digital transformation is the Madhya Pradesh government’s project to implement Integrated India’s Command first cloudbased and Control Center (ICCC) resulting in improved security and safety for citizens. This smart city project will be set up and managed (for 5 years) by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) India and covers 7 key cities of the state including Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore, Ujjain, Satna, and Sagar. It will help the state in many ways, including disaster management, pollution management, and traffic management by leveraging integrated communication centres. Talking about the ongoing digital revolution in governance, Som

Satsangi, Managing Director of HPE India - which is a key enterprise partner for the government - said that this transformation is happening at a rapid pace which was not expected three to four years back. This is helping create financial inclusion, better e-governance, delivering citizen-centric services effectively, and reaching out to citizens in remote places for the betterment of their lives. Connectivity and robust IT infrastructure is enabling this transformation and digital is the backbone of this journey,” he said on a special discussion around Digital Transformation and its impact in Govt and Public Sector. As part of their CSR initiatives, HPE has also partnered with various state governments to implement close to 100 E-health Centres across the country, which provide cloud-based primary health solutions, comprising tele medicines, e-diagnostics, and patient dashboards. While India’s progress with digital transformation is more than satisfactory, there are many challenges that still lie ahead. Currently, India imports around $100 billion worth of electronic goods which may reach $400 billion by 2020, according to government data. To promote inclusive growth, electronic manufacturing in the country needs to be ramped up. Apart from building technical infrastructure, the government needs to build its institutional capacity and train its employees can reach the so that doorstep these of services every citizen and create a long-lasting developmental impact. Key partnerships with global IT players such as HPE can go a long way in making this possible.

“With the evolution of technology and the will to implement this technology for the betterment of citizens, we are seeing a massive transformation every day in the Government Sector” Som Satsangi Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India