Orissa Government’s e-Shishu Project wins India-Tech excellence Award

Orissa state is the winner of the 5 India-Tech Excellence Award for being one of the most progressive state government. Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab and West Bengal were short listed from all the case studies received across the the country and on 16 September 2006, these selected states were invited for the final presentation.

An eminent jury chaired by Justice Shri A.M.Ahmadi, Former Chief Justice of India, members Shri V. Ranganathan, Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra, Dr. M.R.Srinivasan, Former Member Energy Planning Commission, Shri Shymal  Ghosh, Former Chairman Telecom Commission  and other eminent  personalities were in the panel of judges.

The Award was judged on the criticality of IT usage, improvement in service, impact on quality and productivity, impact on society and innovation in terms of reach and replicability, tangible impact on efficiency,  operational costs & decision  making  and demonstrating functionality  of providing various  information relating to e-governance.

Orissa presented Project e-Shishu as a case study to demonstrate the use of ICT and involvement of the state and district administration in delivering governance. It was an examplenary initiative in capacity building of more than 45,000 departmental officers and staff not only to successfully deploying the project and keeping the continuity of the initiative but having a buy-in by them.

The e-Shishu project has been conceived to track each & every child in the age group of 0 -14 years which can ensure his/her fundamental right to education. It provides a technology framework in egovernance  where by, it will be possible to prioritize in resource allocation; track child progress & achievement; and  make the teacher‘s accountable while empowering the community to ensure all the above.

The project started in September  2005 with a vision to have a database of all children by name with 26 parameters and is still continuing.  

The Award is a morale boost for the state & its officers who have made this innovative project a success.