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Naidu charms all with visions of SMART government

In an eagerly awaited session, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu made a spirited presentation to delegates at IT World 98 / Comdex India as it entered the second day here.

Through a lucid slideshow, Naidu narrated the rapid strides being taken by Andhra Pradesh in field of information technology so as to provide better governance. Naidu stressed on adoption of IT for empowering ordinary people.

Arriving directly from Chandigarh after a speech at the Agricultural University there, Naidu slipped smoothly into an 'electronic governance' mode.

With a dedication rare for any politician, Naidu went on to make an impressive case for speedy adoption of IT in India.

Recalling the two weeks that he spent in the USA recently, Naidu said he "literally worked day and night" to meet people and understand possibilities that technologies offer for enabling better governance.

Naidu is now sure that India can play a global role in IT. He pointed out that "About 20-25 per cent of the skilled workforce in IT companies in the USA are Indians."

He claimed that in the last two years Andhra Pradesh has experimented to put in place IT infrastructure and systems to enable citizen-friendly governance and provision of equal opportunities to the poor and weaker sections of the population.

The ordinary citizen just desires good performance from the government, Naidu felt. Therefore, the AP government is utilising the best technologies available for reaching government programmes to ordinary people with a view to empower them.

Citing developments in science and technology, Naidu felt "It is imperative for us to be prepared for the great changes taking place. Nations rise or fall depending on whether they succeed or fail in adopting new technologies," he warned.

Naidu explained how the resolution to adopt IT in AP took off. A clear vision, initiatives, strategies and implementation were called for, he said. The focus was always on a government-industry-citizen co-operation.

Education and infrastructure received attention. The Institutes of Information Technology, with collaboration from the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, have been set up. And major IT multinationals have started schools at the IIITs, he said. The Carnegie Melon University of the US is offering technical support to the effort.

The ultimate objective is to set up a virtual university and offer distance education in a big way, he said.

Naidu said to assist all his IT initiatives a statewide computer network is being set up. Ultimately, 'value added networks' would be put in place and the final integration of all services achieved would enable the creation of a state like Singapore where the government would be able to offer "single stop-nonstop" services.

Knowledge parks and hardware parks are coming up with the collaboration of Singapore Network Services, he informed.

Naidu said his final objective is to establish a "SMART government - Simple, Moral, Responsible, Accountable, and Transparent."

Even while working at the grassroots, Naidu said he looked at International benchmarks for governmental performance and ease of life for the citizens.

Citing several other initiatives he has taken up in AP, Naidu was emphatic that, even while the government provides the infrastructure and entire systems, the people would have to look after themselves and contribute to society.

There will be great benefits for the people from a transparent, meritorious and knowledge based governance, Naidu concluded.

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