In three years time, Goa's GDP will see a clear jump

Having won the title of the Best e-Governed State in the western region for
the second time, at the Dataquest e-Governance Summit 2008 in Mumbai, Goa has
set high standards. RP Pal, IT Secretary, Government of Goa talks about the
e-governance journey in Goa, the technology projects initiated by the state
based on a public private partnership (PPP) model, and his outlook for the
future

How did you envision the e-governance roadmap for Goa?

I was handpicked in 2005 by Dayanand G Narvekar, Cabinet Minister-IT, Law
and Judiciary, Legislative Affairs and Health, Government of Goa. When he
appointed me as the IT secretary, he shared his dream of seeing Goa on the
Government of India's list of the most technologically advanced states. That was
how the journey began. We immediately started screening and appointing technical
people of our choice. When the Government of India started deploying SWAN on a
nation-wide scale, the Department of IT in Goa decided to implement IT
initiatives based on a PPP model, which was the first of its kind in India.

Can you tell us about a few e-gov projects undertaken in Goa?

Our focus, right from the beginning, has been toward creating advanced
electronic connectivity within Goa. We selected United Telecom, a US-based
multinational, as our technology and commercial business partner for the Goa
Broadband Network project. The first phase of the project was inaugurated in
2007.

The Dharni project (100 percent computeriza-tion of land records in Goa), the
application software for all municipal councils in Goa, Infogram, deployed in
all 189 village panchayats, etc are examples of projects implemented
successfully.

The Government of Goa has also initiated the 'Establishment of IT Knowledge
Center' project, specifically for the 44 census towns within the state. We are
now planning to provide Internet connections with speeds of up to 10Gbps in
every home in Goa, probably the highest in Asia.

In addition, we already have videoconferencing and IPTV facilities at our
taluka offices. Our projection is that in three years time, the state GDP will
see a clear jump through these initiatives.

How have you ensured penetration into rural areas?

The Government of Goa has initiated a project, called Integrated Information
Infrastructure (I3), which will bring the benefits of e-governance to residents
of even the remotest area. For us, last mile connectivity is not the last
panchayat connectivity. We are looking at going a step beyond and reaching out
to the grassroot level.

What are the projects planned for the future?

We plan on providing end-to-end connectivity in Goa within a three-year
period. Our projections are that by 2009 end, we will witness a state gross
domestic product jump of about

50 percent. This is a phenomenal figure. If the momentum continues, in another
two years, we will double the GDP. We have a lot of initiatives planned as we go
forward. As we progress on the present projects, we have realized the potential
of technology to further simplify the lives of the citizens of Goa. We plan to
facilitate payment of water bills and electricity bills through the Internet,
mobile banking or tele-banking mode. We are also planning a lot of initiatives
in the e-learning, healthcare and BPO sectors.

Source: Dataquest