14th Conference on e-Governance

The fourteenth National Conference on e-Governance is to begin on February 10th at Aurangabad. Governor of Maharahstra Shri K. Sankaranarayanan, will be inaugurating the two-day annual event. Other dignitaries expected to be present during the inaugural session include: Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Prithviraj Chavan; Minister of State in PMO and Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Shri V. Narayanasamy; Maharashtra Minister of State Prof. Smt. Fauzia T. Khan; Secretary DARPG, Government of India, Shri R.C. Misra and the IT Secretary of Maharashtra, Dr. Nitin Kareer.

The theme for this year’s Conference is `Rural e-Service Delivery Status and Challenges’ which aims at understanding the introduction and penetration of e-Governance in rural India and providing ICT solutions to improve the delivery and accessibility of e-Services. The Conference also acts as a reality check to ascertain the outcome of the services rendered and whether it has achieved the intended objectives of transparent, effective, responsive and accountable governance.

In the inaugural session, National Awards for e-Governance 2010-11 - in seven categories will be given away to the winners. The awards in Gold, Silver and Bronze will be given to 22 organisations. These awards are given to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives. These initiatives could be from Government to Government (G2G), Government to Citizen (G2C) or Government to Business (G2B). An exhibition showcasing the capacities, products and e-Governance initiatives of the Government and private sector will also be inaugurated by the Governor of Maharashtra.

During the Conference, discussions on Enabling Business Environment for Small and Medium Entrepreneurship; e-Governance in promoting Rural Entrepreneurship; enabling e-Panchayats and ICT in Agriculture are proposed.

Over the years, the National Conferences on e-Governance aims to raise awareness of the opportunities offered by ICT for economic and social development. The Conference provides a national forum for leaders and representatives of government, civil society, industry and academicians to exchange ideas, experiences and best practices in implementation of e-Governance projects.

The conference is being organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Department of Information Technology, Government of India and Directorate of Information and Technology, Government of Maharashtra. Senior officers of the Central Government, as well as the State Government; District Magistrates, policy makers, representatives from the academia, technical experts, NGOs and representatives from the private sector are expected to participate.