Gujarat wins CSI - Nihilent Best e-Governed State Award

BANGALORE, INDIA: Gujarat has been awarded the prestigious Computer Society of India (CSI) and Nihilent Best e-Governed State Award for 2006-07. The Department of Health & Family Welfare, Gujarat and Department of Electricity, Lakshadweep were declared joint winners of the Best e-Governed Department Award, a new category introduced this year to recognize government departments that have shown great promise in delivering best results of e-governance.

The CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards for 2006-07 were announced at a grand function held during the 42 nd CSI Annual Convention at Grand Ashok, Bangalore. Kailash Vijayvergiya, Minister of IT, Science & Technology and Public Works, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh was the guest of honour on the occasion. Held for the fifth successive year, the CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards are an annual process of identifying and recognizing the best e-Governance initiatives in India, particularly in the government services. A book titled "Compendium of e-Governance Project Initiatives in India " was released which documents projects from CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards 2006-07. It gives an insight to all stakeholders in e-governance and shares the critical success factors in the implementation process.

Speaking on the occasion, KK Aggarwal, President, CSI said, "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are increasingly being used by governments to deliver services to citizens at convenient geographical locations. The objective of e-Governance initiatives is to improve the reach, make services more transparent and reduce response time with reducing costs. The aim of the CSI - Nihilent e-Governance Awards is to recognize and replicate the successful initiatives of states and organizations in achieving good governance using ICT. We have continuously improved the evaluation process making these awards the true benchmark for quality conception and implementation of e-governance initiatives. This year we received over 100 entries. Heartiest congratulations to all the winners."

Ravi Teja, Associate VP & Head - Enterprise Transformation Group, Nihilent said, "Change management is a subject matter that is currently sweeping public and private sector organizations. It addresses the changes being faced by modern public administrators, both internally and externally. The biggest challenge of deploying e-Governance is not technology but change management in terms of people and processes that the automated environment will introduce. Nihlent is committed to supporting such initiatives that create a sustainable process for change moving in the direction of good governance."

Goa , Jharkhand and Kerala jointly received the award for Progressive e-Governed State. The Special Jury Award for Best e-Governed Department was given to Dept of Education, NCT, Delhi. e-Procurement and VAT Information Systems from Gujarat were declared joint winners in G2B (Government-to-Business) category, while the runner up award went to Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), Nagpur. Child Record Information System (ChRIS) from Madhya Pradesh was adjudged the Best e-Governance Project G2C–Rural (Government-to-Citizen) and Samadhan Ek Din Mein from Madhya Pradesh was the runner up. Centalized Allotment Process for the Professional Course Admiss ions (CAPNic) from Kerala and Web based Rail Reservation (Internet Ticketing) from IRCTC were joint winners in G2C–Urban & Rural category. The Best e-Governance Project Award G2G/G2E (Government-to-Government/Government-to Employee) was jointly shared by Integrated System for Food & Grains Management from Food Corporation of India and DC*Suite from Palakkad, Kerala while Basic Services/Amenities Mgt. Program 'PARAKH' from Madhya Pradesh was the runner up.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a framework in the evaluation process. The awards for Best e-Governed State and 'Best e-Governed Department' were based on parameters of e-Governance road map, IT policy framework, e-Readiness initiative and e-Governance initiatives (improving governance, impact on citizens and capacity building. The assessments for the Best e-Governance Projects were done on selected Result Indicators (key performance, convenience to citizens, sustainability, innovation & replicability) and Enabler Indicators (leadership, people, process, partnership & resources). The selection process included on-site visits by a team of experts to assess project implementation and impact on people benefited by these projects.

The selection committee comprised S P Singh (Sr. Director, e-Governance Group - Dept of IT, Ministry of Information & Communication), Mahesh Chandra (Dy. Director General - National Informatics Centre), L C Singh (President & CEO - Nihilent), M P Gupta (Centre for Excellence in e-Governance - IIT Delhi), Sanjiv Vaidya (IIM - Calcutta), Piyush Gupta ( GM, Capacity Building & KM - National Institute for Smart Government), Ashok Agarwal (Convener, CSI Special Interest Group on e-Governance) and R K Bagga (Convenor, CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards & Advisor, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad).

Instituted in 2002, the CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards encourage the spectacular efforts by states and organizations in the implementation and development of indigenously developed practices and software in the area of e-Governance that benefit the common citizen. Awards for 2006-07 are for 'Best e-Governed State', 'Best e-Governed Department' and 'Best e-Governance Project' (G2B, G2C Rural, G2C Urban & Rural, G2G/G2E). An independent selection committee drawn from the industry, academia and the government adjudicates the awards while the selection process includes on-sit visits by a team of experts to assess project implementation and impact on people benefited by the projects. Being held for the fifth successive year, the awards have received tremendous response in terms of enthusiasm and participation. The awards function is held at the annual CSI convention and is attended by dignitaries from the IT industry, as well as personalities from government and non-government organizations. www.csinihilent-egovernanceawards.org