Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday declared the southern state as India's first fully e-governed state where an entire range of government services have been digitised so that they can be provided to the citizens promptly and transparently.

The Chief Minister, after declaring the state as totally e-governed, said it would not only create a network of government offices and citizens, but would use technology for Kerala's development and empower the people by bridging the digital divide.

It would also fast track the journey towards a knowledge society and economy with total e-literacy, he said at the 'Total e-Governance Kerala’ event held here.

"By the term governance what the present government means is total commitment to fulfil the promises it has made to the people. The government and governance are reaching out to the people more and more, he said.

"The service delivery has been made people-oriented and corruption-free and public utilities have become people-friendly. These transformative changes have been felt by people in the last seven years," the Chief Minister said.

The government will not stop and rest on its laurels and would focus on ensuring that services reach the masses instead of the people having to knock on the doors of departments for the same. "This can be ensured by leveraging new technology, and that is exactly what the government is focusing on,” Vijayan said.

One such "bold step" in that direction was making internet access a citizen's right by rolling out the KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) project, he said and added that it would make access to the internet affordable or free of cost.

He also listed out the other government initiatives -- like a single-window portal called e-Sevanam for delivering as many as 900 services -- for ushering in e-governance which would soon be extended to taluk-level offices.

"In panchayats, delivery of as many as 250 services has been made online," the Chief Minister said.

Setting up the country's first digital university in the state and launch of the digital science park project worth Rs 1,500 crore were the other major steps taken by the government to bridge the digital divide and bring about total e-governance, he said.

Noting that the total e-governance declaration coincided with the second anniversary of the LDF government, Vijayan said his administration has turned the occasion into an opportunity to unveil a series of pro-people projects including the 100-day programme, instead of seeing it as an occasion for just celebrations.

In his welcome address, State Chief Secretary V P Joy said with Kerala becoming the first complete e-governance state in the country, there won’t be any delay in providing services to people from government departments and offices.

He said the changes resulting from the implementation of e-governance would reflect in all sections of society and it would be a decisive factor in social progress.

The delivery of all vital services has already been digitised, covering all key domains including health, education, land revenue, documentation of properties, public distribution system and social security payouts, a government statement said.

An exhibition featuring digitisation of service delivery by various government departments is going on at Kanakakunnu here and entry to the same, which is free for the public, would close on May 27, it said.

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