In a detailed interview with Dataquest, Kailash Vijayvargiya, minister, Public Work Department, IT, and Science & Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh, talks about the states e-governance initiatives, the benefits accrued and challenges that lie ahead. The minister also delves upon the governments agenda to attract IT investments into the state. Excerpts

What is your e-governance vision?
We have a vision of 24-hours governance, where the government should work 24 hours. Why should there be a holiday even on a Saturday or Sunday? The use of ICT makes this vision of 24x7 governance possible. For the citizens, any work that they have with the governmentpaying tax, making of birth certificates, etcthey need to have the flexibility of doing it anytime. The real utilization of e-gov initiatives will happen only when the common man has a 24x7 government.

By when do you think 24x7 governance will become a reality?
We will implement 24-hours governance in the next year and a half. However, awareness and education is lacking among citizens. So, the transformation will take some time.

Can you recall some e-governance success stories in Madhya Pradesh?
Some big initiatives on the e-governance front in Madhya Pradesh include computerization of treasury, commercial tax and the Mandi Board. Treasury computerization has led to good financial control. We carried out the computerization of mandis in order to ensure that farmers get the right price. The system makes available important information like rates, arrivals, etc, in these mandis. Weather forecasts are also available. All this has led to transparency in operations and helps in ensuring that farmers get a fair share.

We have almost doubled the collection of commercial tax in the last 3-4 years. As a result of the initiative, all records have been computerized, leading to greater efficiency in collections and better manageability of records. Very importantly, computerization has also brought in greater transparency in to the system.

How are you using IT to do away with the traditional inefficiencies in the tendering process?
Usually, we hear a lot of complains related to inefficiencies and problems in the tendering process. In order to tackle these issues, we have introduced e-tendering. The process has been initiated with the PWD, irrigation department, PHE, state electricity board, tax board, UAD, MPSEDC, etc. We are also initiating this in the municipal corporations under districts of the state. The whole objective is to bring about efficiency and greater transparency in the tendering process.

And about the IT investments in the state
We expect companies to invest around Rs 5,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh in the next 1-2 years. At the Global Investor Meet held some time back, about 16 companies signed the MoU. These companies want to come to MP and open BPOs, and IT parks.

One of the biggest factor that works in favor of Madhya Pradesh is the availability of human resource. The state has over 100 engineering colleges and around 40,000 students, including engineering graduates, MCAs and BCAs pass out every year. So, a big incentive for the companies to invest in the state is the availability of quality manpower at a cheaper price. Besides, Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state and law and order situation is good.

Shipra Malhotra
shipram@cybermedia.co.in

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