The National Meet on Grassroot Informatics
India has been making progress in the field of Information and Communication Technology with leaps and bounds. This progress, however, would not have been possible without the contributions of the officers closest to the ground reality, the District Informatics Officers (DIO). The DIOs have detailed knowledge of the issues and problems faced at the ground level and expertise in implementing the solutions. To interact with them as well as honour their unwavering commitment towards the cause of turning India into a digitally empowered country, NIC organized VIVID, the National Meet on Grassroot Informatics recently. The name VIVID has been derived from Vision, Insights and Voices as India goes Digital. Featured here are some glimpses of the event.
The vibrant three day event, organized in New Delhi from 19th-21st January, 2017 was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Shri P. P. Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ms. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Dr. Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, Ms. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC and Ms. Rama Nangpal, Deputy Director General, NIC were the distinguished guests who shared the dais with Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
VIVID saw the enthusiastic participation from DIOs across the country. 17 DIOs were felicitated at the event for their exemplary contributions towards the various initiatives promoting cashless transactions as a part of the Digital India Programme.
During the speech, Hon’ble Union Minister encouraged the DIOs to develop a culture of innovation so that the organization can become a pioneer in the field of eGovernance at the international level. At the occasion, he announced pilot programs to upgrade the infrastructure at 150 centres of NIC as well as annual prizes worth Rs. 3.5 Lakhs for the best performing DIOs of the country. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad launched two new initiatives by the NIC, the District Collector Dashboard and the NIC Service Desk.
The inaugural session was followed by talks on “NIC’s Journey So Far”, “Best Practices from the Field” and seminars on “Digital India Programme” and “Financial Inclusion” delivered by officials of NIC. The sessions saw some of the senior officials of the organization talking candidly with the DIOs, inviting their suggestions and comments on the programmes being undertaken on the national scale.
NIC is the technological bridge of India. A bridge is not just something which allows you to cross a river but is a larger philosophical concept. It brings people together, bridging the gaps and divides. — Ravi Shankar Prasad Union Minister Electronics & IT, Law & Justice
I take this opportunity to compliment NIC for its diverse set of contributions, fostering knowledge and IT culture in the country. I wish every success to this first of its kind initiative and hope that this platform would continue to evolve. — P.P. Chaudhary Minister of State Electronics & IT, Law & Justice
At the outset, I must also say that the event is named very beautifully. VIVID, Vision, Insights and Voices as India goes Digital, because the DIOs do not just represent the NIC, but they actually represent the aspirations at the grass root level. Therefore, they are an extremely important and valuable network that helps us build more coherent and meaningful policies. — Aruna Sundararajan, IAS Secretary, MeitY
It is truly a historic day as for the first time, DIOs from all over the country are today here and are having direct interaction with the Ministry, with the stake holders and the Hon’ble Ministers themselves. The DIOs are the silent foot soldiers who have started the journey of IT enablement in the country. — Dr. Ajay Kumar, IAS Additional Secretary, MeitY
The District Informatics Centres were set up across the country three decades ago. The DIOs and DIAs could initiate and contribute immensely to create IT awareness and capacity building in the Districts. In many ways, their presence has catalyzed the adoption of IT for Districts Administration. — Neeta Verma Director General, NIC
On Day 2, talks were delivered by the DIOs on the initiatives in their own districts and the challenges faced in the implementation of the programmes as well as the achievements of their programmes. Following lunch, an open session was organized with the DIOs so that their concerns and queries could be addressed directly to the senior officers of the organizations and they could respond in kind.
The final day of VIVID saw sessions on technology conducted by the various project heads of NIC in the morning at Shastri Park, Delhi. The event concluded with a visit of DIO’s to the National Data Centre, NIC to get a peek at the infrastructures which are indispensible for the products and services they create.
The event drew much appreciation from all the participants as it was a rare opportunity for them to interact with their peers and seniors from all across the country and share their views, insights and visions. For smooth organizing of the event, various committees were constituted under the leadership of Ms. Rama Nangpal, DDG, NIC. The success of the event was widely applauded.