We have almost doubled our commercial tax collection in the last four years

In a detailed interview with Dataquest, Kailash Vijayvargiya, minister,
Public Works Department, IT, and Science & Technology, Government of Madhya
Pradesh, talks about the states e-governance initiatives, the benefits accrued
and challenges that lie ahead. The minister also delves upon the governments
agenda to attract IT investments into the state. Excerpts

What is your e-governance vision?

Our vision is to provide 24 hour governance in the state. Why should there
be a holiday even on a Saturday or Sunday? The use of ICT makes this vision of
24x7 governance possible. For the citizens, any work that they have with the
governmentpaying tax, making of birth certificates, etcthey need to have the
flexibility of doing it anytime. The real utilization of e-gov initiatives will
happen only when the common man has a 24x7 government.

By when do you think 24x7 governance will become a reality?

We will implement 24-hours governance in the next year and a half. However,
awareness and education is lacking among citizens. So, the transformation will
take some time.

Can you recall some e-governance success stories in Madhya Pradesh?

Some big initiatives on the e-governance front in Madhya Pradesh include
computerization of treasury, commercial tax, and the Mandi Board. Treasury
computerization has led to good financial control. We carried out the
computerization of mandis in order to ensure that farmers get the right price.
The system makes available important information like rates, arrivals, etc, in
these mandis. Weather forecasts are also available. All this has led to
transparency in operations and helps in ensuring that farmers get a fair share.

We have almost doubled the collection of commercial tax in the last 3-4
years. As a result of the initiative, all records have been computerized,
leading to greater efficiency in collections and better manageability of
records. Very importantly, computerization has also brought in greater
transparency in to the system.

How are you using IT to do away with the traditional inefficiencies in the
tendering process?

Usually, we hear a lot of complains related to inefficiencies and problems
in the tendering process. In order to tackle these issues, we have introduced
e-tendering. The process has been initiated with the PWD, irrigation department,
PHE, state electricity board, tax board, UAD, MPSEDC, etc. We are also
initiating this in the municipal corporations under districts of the state. The
whole objective is to bring about efficiency and greater transparency in the
tendering process.

And about the IT investments in the state

We expect companies to invest around Rs 5,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh in the
next 1-2 years. At the Global Investor Meet held some time back, about 16
companies signed the MoU. These companies want to come to MP and open BPOs, and
IT parks.

One of the biggest factor that works in favor of Madhya Pradesh is the
availability of human resource. The state has over 100 engineering colleges and
around 40,000 students, including engineering graduates, MCAs, and BCAs pass out
every year. So, a big incentive for the companies to invest in the state is the
availability of quality manpower at a cheaper price. Besides, Madhya Pradesh is
a peaceful state and law and order situation is good.

Shipra Malhotra

shipram@cybermedia.co.in