KSITM implements mGovernance in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: The Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) is currently implementing the mGovernance project under which citizens can avail government services through their cell phones.

Kerala is the first state in India that has undertaken a comprehensive project of this kind.

"Kerala has over 3.5 million mobile phones, far exceeding its population. Citizens exposed to access government services through mobile phones in their hands could be a radical concept turning to reality in Kerala.

By introducing m-Governance, citizens from anywhere, the aged and those reclined at homes could reach for any government service on a 24×7 basis through their mobile phones, instead of the beneficiaries visiting government offices for various services," said P H Kurian, Principal Secretary IT, Kerala.

mServices of government departments have been enabled with an integrated service delivery infrastructure platform in a plug-and-play pattern, under this project.

Citizens can type the short code 537252 (KERALA) to access services under various government departments. Through this short code m-services of 90 State Government Departments can be availed by the citizens.

While KSITM is the nodal agency for implementation of m-Governance in Kerala, MobME Wireless is the implementation partner for mobile and service providers.

Various Government Departments are using e-SMS accounts for inter-departmental and outward communication through mobile technology. Currently, 110 e-SMS accounts have been created.