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Indian state Andhra Pradesh goes online
1 November, 2002
Indian state goes online
Omer Farooq
BBC reporter in Hyderabad
The southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has put all its local
government services online [http://www.andhrapradesh.com/ ] in an
attempt to cut red tape.
The project called SmartGOV will pave the way for online processing
of official documents through the different levels of bureaucracy.
Indian bureaucracy is often criticised for long delays in processing
important files.
This is believed to be the first project of its kind in India and has
been developed jointly by the Andhra Pradesh government and a private
firm - Tata Consultancy Services.
Other states interested
The project has taken 15 months to develop, at the cost of nearly
$5.5m.
Launching the scheme, Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu said it would
help make the administration more efficient, transparent and
accountable.
He said the project would make it easier to monitor the progress of
an official document.
The technology behind the project will be made available to other
Indian states and countries in the region.
Officials said it was ready for implementation in Indian-administered
Kashmir and several other states including Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
Plagued by corruption
The Sri Lankan Government is also keen to implement this project,
said officials.
Andhra Pradesh, with a population of 76 million, is often lauded as a
model for other states for its implementation of information
technology in government departments.
But observers say the state still has a long way to go before
electronic governance is put in place.
They say that despite several initiatives to use information
technology in the government, the problems of corruption continue to
mar the administration.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2388763.stm
