‘100% digital delivery of services in Delhi before August 15’

425 of 456 services already being provided, officials inform L-G during review meeting

The Delhi government’s goal of 100% delivery of services will be completed well before the deadline of August this year, Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal was informed at a meeting held to review the initiative here on Wednesday.  Mr. Baijal, who was reviewing with senior government officials the progress of work to ensure digital delivery of services in Delhi, was told that the number of government services available online had risen to 425 from just 122 in May 2020, according to sources present at the meeting. “In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on Digital India and digitalisation, the L-G has been consistently pushing for the provision of all government services through digital or online mode,” a source said. “Transparent and time-bound delivery of various services without any human interface, so as to totally avoid any harassment of citizens availing of those services, is the main aim of the initiative,” the source said.

According to sources, Mr. Baijal began the regular monitoring of the ‘Digital Delivery of Services’ programme in April 2017.  The entire exercise is understood to have gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, when delivery of services without physical contact and movement became imperative.  “He (L-G) has been regularly emphasising the need to not only provide all possible government services digitally but also ensure that the digital divide is bridged so that people belonging to all socio-economic sections are able to seamlessly avail these services at minimum affordable cost,” a source said. “The need to integrate all services being provided digitally on a single common platform or portal has also remained at the forefront,” the source said. As a result, 425 out of 456 services are currently being provided by various departments of the Delhi government digitally, the source added. According to sources, in the last review meeting held on January 14 this year, the L-G had directed that the entire exercise of ‘Digital Delivery of Services’ be completed with an aim of providing 100% services to citizens by August 15, 2022. This, the L-G had said, would be a befitting tribute on the occasion of the 75 years of Independence being observed as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, said a source. “On Wednesday, the Chief Secretary informed that the goal of 100% Digital Delivery of Government Services by August 2022 will be completed well before time,” the source said.