Kerala has set benchmark in e-governance, say experts

Government functionaries were critical in thesuccess of the Akshaya project in Kerala, Dr Madon added.Jayant Bhatnagar, Board Director, Centre forDevelopment of Telematics C-DOT, Government of India, said,Kerala has always been receptive to new technologies.Like all our other technologies, Kerala has beensupportive in our efforts and our technology Early WarningPlatform, which is based on global standards, was first usedin Kerala during the floods.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 (PTI): Lauding the path-breaking initiatives of Kerala in e-governance, experts fromacross the globe Tuesday said the governance milestones andbenchmarks the state has set, continue to be relevant, when itcomes to adopting electronic and digital technology.

They were sharing their insights and experiencesduring a session on E-governance on ''Citizen Access toServices and Empowerment,'' at the high-profile three-dayvirtual global conclave ''Kerala Looks Ahead'' (KLA) here.

Welcoming the participants, Mohammed Y Safirulla,Additional Secretary, Department of Electronics andInformation Technology, said the state has come a long way inthe field of information technology, particularly in the areasof e-governance.

Dr Shirin Madon, Associate Professor, InformationSystem, London School of Economics, said e-governance projectsaimed at improving service delivery to citizens requiregreater attention to be placed on local context and localpractices.

''Kerala is well-known for its social developmentmodel, legacy of political mobilisation and citizenempowerment. Akshaya project was a planned approach by KeralaState IT Mission (KSITM) in 2002 and it was very much drivenby local demand. Government functionaries were critical in thesuccess of the Akshaya project in Kerala,'' Dr Madon added.

Jayant Bhatnagar, Board Director, Centre forDevelopment of Telematics (C-DOT), Government of India, said,Kerala has always been receptive to new technologies.

''Like all our other technologies, Kerala has beensupportive in our efforts and our technology Early WarningPlatform, which is based on global standards, was first usedin Kerala during the floods. Any technology since 1984, whichhas been introduced by us, will have the first trials inKerala before taking it to the rest of the country,'' he added.

Dr Amit Prakash, Associate Professor, Centre for ITand Public Policy, International Institute of InformationTechnology, Bengaluru, who chaired the session, said Kerala isa model for others in effectively implementing e-governance.

Elaborating how digital technology aided South Koreato contain Covid-19, Dr Chang Yong Son, Information andCommunications Technology (ICT) and Disaster Risk ReductionDivision, UN-ESCAP, said smart management system andbuttressing public-private partnership by opening publicsector are vital in the face of crisis.

''The digital infrastructure can be leverageddiligently to protect and inform people'', he said.

Talking on social media platforms and threats ofmisinformation, Dr Joyojeet Pal, Principal Researcher,Microsoft Research, said that there is a need to increase theculture of critical approach to misinformation in aprogressive state like Kerala.

Anju Mangal, Asia Regional Coordinator, Alliance forAffordable Internet World Wide Web Foundation, said thatstrong global policies are required against online gender-based violence and related to the online content.PTI UD SSPTI PTI