Microsoft inks MoU with Uttaranchal on e-gov

BANGALORE: Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttaranchal, to jointly develop and deploy technology solutions for e-governance in the state.

Microsoft Corporation India, President, Rajiv Nair said "Technology holds tremendous potential towards empowering Governments to deliver citizen centric services that redefine the government-citizen relationship and facilitate greater transparency in governance. In our role as a technology provider and consultant, we are committed to work together with the Government of Uttaranchal to devise and deploy technology solutions that will have a positive social impact and enable the Government to react with agility to public needs."

With the MoU signing, the Department of Information Technology (DOIT) will attain the status of a Strategic Microsoft Technology Partner for the Uttaranchal Government, consulting, developing and executing systems integration projects on Microsoft technologies. DOIT will identify and appoint a core team to develop applications using the Microsoft .NET framework and other development tools based on Microsoft technologies. As part of the agreement, Microsoft shall also invest in skill transfer on Microsoft products and technologies to DOIT.

The MoU entails the setting up of two Centers of Excellence (CoE) for e-governance in the state of Uttaranchal based on Microsoft technologies jointly by Microsoft and DOIT. The CoEs for e-governance will showcase an array of Microsoft products and solutions and demonstrate the interoperability of Microsoft products with other platforms. These centres will also facilitate the state Government and the university to conduct technical training sessions for the Government personnel.

Government of Uttaranchal, Secretary, Information Technology, Amarendra Sinha, said, "Government of Uttaranchal strongly believes that Information Technology usage will bring a sea change in governance by enabling delivery of simple, transparent and cost-effective services that will help citizens realize their potential and usher in unprecedented development. Our MoU with Microsoft, will play a pivotal role towards ensuring that we leverage the world’s best technologies to this effect and develop an effective e-Government framework."

The MoU will also focus on launching of a Hindi Lab in Dehradun to promote use of the national language — Hindi in Government workflow applications. Microsoft will facilitate the setting up of this first Hindi IT Lab in India by providing software, training to DOIT/Uttaranchal Government employees, website development and content creation in Hindi.

Microsoft will assist in development and transfer of kills for Project Aarohi of the Uttaranchal Government which is aimed towards providing IT education and training to Government employees, teachers and students.

Microsoft will also provide its consulting resources to the Uttaranchal Government for the development and implementation of Project Haridwar, which will offer services for pilgrims visiting Haridwar on different occasions. Microsoft will initiate the setting up of a steering committee that will facilitate the state Government to develop an IT roadmap for the next 3 years. The role of the steering committee will be to advise the state Government on setting priorities for computerizing various departments/projects and establish e-governance frameworks and set standards for developing e-governance applications.

As part of the MoU, Microsoft is also committed to advise the Uttaranchal Government on the various e-governance applications that are available today across Governments and recommend the ones that are most suited for the Uttaranchal government.