NEW DELHI: Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, the chief secretary, today gave orders to all the deputy commissioners to inform everyone over the age of five about J&K’s digital efforts. Dr. Mehta was speaking during a ceremony to officially launch the IT Department’s “Digital Week,” which was attended by hundreds of people including schoolchildren from all across the UT. The Chief Secretary made the observation during his speech that “Online Services” are the best remedy to the evil of corruption and can significantly alleviate its symptoms. He argued that digital services are less expensive and burdensome, as well as being more effective, non-discriminatory, and transparent in addition to being accessible and transparent.According to the Chief Secretary, the sole purpose of this week’s commemoration is to raise people’s awareness of their legal rights. Only those who support corruption, he said, are opposed to such changes. He recommended individuals to apply for services from the comfort of their homes in order to exercise their rights and avoid physically visiting offices. He also urged the IT Department to develop strategies such as setting up a call centre or informing applicants of the status of their applications. Dr. Mehta reaffirmed that J&K is currently leading the way in the implementation of IT-enabled governance systems.He praised “Team J&K,” which is made up of all the Deputy Commissioners, HoDs, Administrative Secretaries, and the Secretary of the IT Department, and referred to it as a pure dedication on the side of the LG administration. Dr. Mehta pointed out that when it comes to bringing governance to the people’s doorsteps, J&K has come a long way from being a laggard to a leader. He hoped that the UT would become recognised as an example for other States and UTs in the nation. J&K has the necessary capacity, capability, passion, and desire to be the best, he emphasised. According to him, digital governance is the new ethos and the path forward for making J&K future-ready. He also praised the J&K people for their outstanding ability to adjust to the rapid changes taking place all around them. He stated that J&K hopes to increase its current total of 1016 to over 1500 in the upcoming months. He implied that “Digital hai to Sahi hai” should be our catchphrase. Prerna Puri, the Commissioner Secretary for IT, expressed her thanks to the Divisional and District Administrations for their unwavering support in making this initiative a huge success at the event. Prerna Puri hosted the activities virtually from Kala Kendra Jammu. She claimed that without their active support, the UT’s digital journey would not have been feasible.She complimented everyone for exhibiting such a high degree of participation and passion. Further information was provided, including the fact that the IT Department would be announcing the “Digital J&K Awards” to honour digital projects all across UT. The Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners discussed the actions they had done to achieve the goals outlined for the week-long programme while making their statements. They provided information on the types of stalls and written materials they had produced. They provided specifics regarding the weekly activities. The week-long mega awareness camps will be hosted concurrently in a number of locations around each district, with significant participation from Deputy Commissioners and other district level officers, PRIs, students and members of the general public.
