PATNA: Bihar officials' innovative digital initiatives are being recognized by the Centre government as they will be awared the Digital India Award-2020 on December 30.
Five senior officials including the principal secretary of CM Nitish Kumar and then principal secretary of Disaster Management Department will receive the award for their innovative digital efforts during the corona-induced lockdown.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind will give away the Digital India Awards-2020 on December 30 in New Delhi in presence of Union IT Minister Ravi Shanaker to Chanchal Kumar- now the principal secretary to CM Bihar, Pratyay Amrit-the principal secretary of Disaster Management Department, M Ramchandrudu-the additional secretary of DMC, Shailesh Kumar Srivastav and Niraj Kumar Tiwari-both of the Bihar NIC.
According to official sources, all these government officials had made innovative digital efforts under the e-governance to reach out the people with all possible assistances during the lockdown. Nearly 21 lakhs people-majority of them migrant-labourers, stranded outside the state were provided assistances and cash through digital platforms called-‘ Bihar Parvasi Sahayta Mobile App’.
Chanchal Kumar, the principal secretary to CM Bihar, was given the ‘Award of Excellence’ under the Digital India Initiative on July 10 this year. Kumar is a technocrat turned bureaucrat and has served in many departments with notable performances in each of them.
In the same way, nearly 15 lakhs migrant people ,who had returned to Bihar were provided assistance and quarantined at 10,000 quarantine centres through a digital app developed by the disaster department called ‘the Garur App’, an initiative of Pratyay Amrit.
With the help of ‘Garur App’, developed to register the migrant labourers and mapping their skills throughout the lockdown times, Pratyay Amrit had ensured cash assistances of Rs 1000 to each of the registered migrant labourers and other people upon their return to Bihar. He had also ensured free availability of clothes, utensils and other daily use valuables for the quarantined people across the state.
Pratyay Amrit is also known for his efforts in completing electrification in Bihar and giving a new lease of life to the state roads and bridge constructions. He was also awarded by the Government of India in 2011 with the Prime Minister’s Excellence Award in Public Administration. "Services to the people are the ethics and essences of Indian Administrative Services and I do it with dedication, " Amrit said.
The Digital India Award has been instituted under the aegis of National Portal of India with a purpose of bringing the innovative digital efforts to the fore. Other officials, being warded with the Digital India Awards by the president of India are M Ramchandrudu-the additional secretary of DMC, Shailesh Kumar
Srivastav and Niraj Kumar Tiwari-both of the Bihar NIC.