Prime Minister’s Office to Partner with Google for an App Contest
Just a few days back we heard about the Indian government banning the use of foreign-based email services for government employees. It seems now that one such email provider, Google will be partnering with the government to select an official app for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO.)
Google on Monday released a statement that supported the government’s Digital India Plan. The Prime Minister has made it clear that he plans to focus on an e-governance model to deliver services to the people. The Digital India plan focuses on developing information infrastructure across the nation.
The Indian Government to take assistance from the Silicon Valley giant to make the PMO app.
Google has also said that it will help the government to encourage digital literacy and internet safety. To do this, they want to introduce curriculums for students, government officials and also for elected representatives. The Silicon Valley giant will work with various state governments and the department of information technology to bring the PMO app to the citizens of India.
The app will be a medium of connection between the common public and the PMO. India, which currently has world’s third largest internet using population (about 245 million,) can really benefit from initiatives like this. It is expected to become the second largest by next year (2015) and will reach the 500 million mark by 2016.
The app seems like a great idea and to partner with the makers of the biggest mobile operating system is also appreciated. But the government has to put the citizen feedback into real world change or else this will just end up piling up feedbacks along will everything else that is pending in our government offices. The government should firmly concentrate on bringing systemic changes to how the government functions and take proactive steps to make it better.
Hopefully the new e-governance model will bring about the change that Indians have been waiting for, for a long while.
