DQ DigiGov Conference in Gandhinagar focuses on Deploying Digital Tech in Gov Departments

At the DQ DigiGov conference organized in association with Microsoft, the delegates from various Gujarat Government departments participated to understand and envision the role of digital technologies for various government services.

The morning session was inaugurated by Dr Sandhya Bhullar, MD, Gujarat Skill Development Mission, Govt of Gujarat. Speaking on the occasion after the lamp lighting, Dr Bhullar shared the various initiatives her departments are taking to deliver citizen services. She specifically talked about the need for making government websites mobile friendly. Dr Bhullar also mentioned that the government is sitting on huge data, so data analytics technologies that will help make sense of data is required. She also highlighted the point that very frequent changes (upgrades) in hardware and software comes in the way of leveraging IT in government services.

During the evening session, the key speakers included Dr Chandan Chatterjee, Center for Entrepreneurship Development, Govt of Gujarat, and KS Randhawa, MD, Gujarat Agro Industries Corp Ltd; Ms Ruzan Khambatta, founder, PoliceHEART1091; and Nitza Agrait Villa, senior attorney, Microsoft. The panel discussed the challenges government departments are facing as it gears up its ICT infrastructure and preparedness to handle citizen's and businesses' expectations from the government; the panel members were unanimous that citizens increasing awareness about ICT applications, government schemes etc was increasing the pressure on the government to respond faster, and be more relevant and transparent. The panel also talked about how some government departments are using cloud as a platform, and what have been their experience.

Microsoft speakers included Sanjeev Rege, regional sales manager; Arnab Ganguly, Solutions architect; Rohit Jayas, solution specialist; Charmaine Lewis-Wali, solution specialist for devices, and Nitza Agrait Villa, who covered a range of issues including how cloud solutions are being used by governments not just across the world but in India too; what are the kind of concerns government users have with respect to cloud and how has Microsoft adapted its offerings to address those concerns; and what are the emerging best practices for governments deploying digital technologies to transform government services.