State to roll out e-office from July next

Shimla, April 24

e-Office, being an integral part of the Digital India Programme, is the medium to achieve a Simplified, Responsive, Effective, Accountable and Transparent working in Government offices. The speed and efficiency of e-Office not only assists departments in informed and quicker decisions but also makes them go paperless. File Management System (e-File) in e-office a workflow-based system that extends the features of existing manual handling of files in addition to a more efficient electronic system.

Keeping point in view the importance of e-office the State Government has decided to roll out e-office from 1st July, 2023 to bring transparency and efficiency in the working of government departments,

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed the Information and Technology Department to complete all the codal formalities for the successful implementation of the e-office system in a time bound manner.

He said that promoting transparency in the functioning of the government has been accorded top priority and the e-office system would go a long way in achieving this objective. He said that the State Government has taken several measures to revamp the system and provide facilities to the people of State at their door steps and implementation of the e-office system was one such measure.

Presently, the e-office system is efficiently working in 24 Directorates, four Deputy Commissioner Offices, One Superintendent of Police Office and three field offices, whereas seven branches in H.P. Secretariat, nine Directorates, two Deputy Commissioner Offices, four Superintendent of Police Offices and ten field offices are using e-office partially.

The State Government intends to introduce e-office system in all 109 branches of H.P. Secretariat, all 70 Directorates, all 12 Deputy Commissioner Offices, all Superintendent of Police Offices and other field offices. This system will facilitate in maintaining records and communication leading to faster and more effective process in decision making. The Government move to roll out e-office system is being considered a significant improvement in promoting efficiency, productivity and cost effectiveness.

The Information Technology Department is following two pronged strategies to introduce e-office system. On one hand, training is being imparted to the employees of H.P. Secretariat and Directorate levels and on another hand, the department is also providing handholding by deploying the adequate manpower in training the staff. Training of all H.P. Secretariat staff was completed in March this year and training at the Directorate level was started from 10^th April, 2023.

Its worth mentioning that the H.P. Legislative Assembly has become India’s first ever high-tech Paperless Assembly about 9 year ago by implementing e-Vidhan system and automating the process involved in working of House including various House Committees, its Secretariat and managing Constituencies by Members.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the government system has to keep the pace with technological advancements. The State Government’s vision is to create a digitally advanced State with secure, accessible, digital infrastructure for effective governance. Plans are underway for incorporating technology in various sectors to facilitate the people of the State and the IT department must take lead in creating the digital infrastructure in the State. The State will provide all out support to the IT department in this direction.