J&K embraces digital transformation: e-Office implementation review meeting sets vision for future

Jammu, Oct 17: On the directions of Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Commissioner Secretary Information Technology (IT), Prerna Puri, convened a meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners to review the implementation of e-Office across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Commissioners through virtual mode while Chief Executive Officer JaKeGA, Anuradha Gupta; State Informatics Officer, Saleem Khan; Additional Secretaries IT Department, Rajinder Khajuria and Satish Kumar Sharma besides others concerned participated in person.

The central focus of the meeting was the complete transition of government file processing to the e-Office platform, encompassing districts, blocks and panchayats. The move towards a paperless and digitally driven system was strongly encouraged to enhance transparency, accountability and accessibility of government records. The Chief Secretary has envisioned complete abandonment of manual file transmission in the UT.

Commissioner Secretary, while addressing the meeting, exhorted upon the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that e-Office becomes the standard for processing government files. This transformation is expected to revolutionize the functioning of government offices, making information easily accessible to the concerned stakeholders. She also asked the DCs to promote the horizontal and vertical usage of e-Office in all departments throughout the districts.

The meeting also projected several key issues, such as the availability of IT infrastructure, need for capacity building of manpower, VPN access and increasing bandwidth to support the e-Office system. The Commissioner Secretary assured the attendees that these issues would be promptly resolved through coordination between NIC and JaKeGA.

Prerna Puri enjoined upon the Deputy Commissioners to submit a minimum of five online services which can be developed for their respective districts for integration into the e-UNNAT platform. This initiative is aimed at providing citizens with easy access to government services and information.

To facilitate the seamless adoption of the e-Office system in all tehsils and blocks of the districts, it was decided that a workshop will be organized to provide necessary guidance and support in making the digital platform functional in all administrative units of the district.

The Commissioner Secretary asserted that the government of Jammu and Kashmir was committed towards the advancement of technology for the betterment of governance and citizen services. The successful implementation of the e-office system will undoubtedly bring about a positive change in the administration and service delivery throughout the Union Territory, she maintained.