Rolling out e-Sansad and e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures to digitize

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
07-January, 2018 12:40 IST
Shri Ananthkumar to inaugurate 18th All India Whips’ Conference, to be held at Udaipur on 8th - 9th January, 2018

Government proposes Rolling out e-Sansad and e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures to digitize and make their functioning paperless

States and Union territories to present Action-Taken Reports on recommendation of the 16th and 17th Whips’ conferences held in Goa and Visakhapatnam respectively

The crucial issue of Efficient Functioning of Legislatures will be deliberated by the Whips of Parliament and Legislatures and the Ministers of Parliamentary Affairs of various States during a two-day Conference beginning on Monday, January 8, 2018 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Ananthkumar will inaugurate the 18th All India Whips’ Conference, which will also consider, inter alia, the rolling out of e-Sansad and e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures to digitize and make their functioning paperless. This Conference is being organized by the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) and the Government of Rajasthan. Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia would be the Chief Guest for the Inaugural Session of the Conference.

Shri Vijay Goel, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics and Programme Implementation and Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, would also grace the Inaugural session and chair different deliberation sessions during the Conference.

e-Sansad and e-Vidhan are mission mode projects of Government of India under Digital India, to make the functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures paperless. MoPA is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of both the projects. According to the agenda prepared by MoPA for the Conference, these projects would make the functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures participative, responsive, transparent, productive and more accountable to the public and make the entire Legislative process more efficient. Further, this environment friendly initiative is in line with the ‘Go Green’ initiative of the Government.

Some States have made good progress in the field of automation of their Legislatures, yet consumption of huge volume of papers is still going on in these States. In order to address this issue and economize the entire Legislative process, e-Vidhan is proposed to be implemented in all the States/ UTs with Legislatures. For rolling out e-Vidhan in the State legislatures, funding to the maximum extent would be provided by the MoPA. The Delegates of the Whips’ Conference would deliberate on the issue and make suggestions/ recommendations for making the rolling out of e-Vidhan a success.

Other agenda items for deliberation during the Conference would include steps to be taken to ensure Efficient Functioning of Legislatures, while the States and Union territories will present Action-Taken Reports on recommendation of the 16th and 17th Whips’ conferences held in Goa in 2014 and Visakhapatnam in 2015, respectively.

Further, the Whips’ Conference would make other recommendations for smooth and efficient working of Parliament and the State Legislatures in the light of the experience gained by the Whips. The Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs would then forward these recommendations to the (i) the State Chief Ministers; (ii) Ministers-in-charge of Department of Parliamentary Affairs in the State Governments; and (iii) Presiding Officers of the State Legislatures and all the invitees to the conference, for information and necessary action.

A whip is an important member of a political party’s parliamentary body, having a central role in ‘Floor Management’ in both the Houses of Parliament and is responsible for discipline within the party. Their main job is ensuring that their members in Parliament and legislature vote in line with the party’s official policy on important issues and make sure that the members turn out for important votes. Such an importance of Whips in the Parliamentary system had been acknowledged by organizing the First All India Whips Conference at Indore in 1952, in the very first year of general elections to the First Lok Sabha.

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[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
08-January, 2018 15:39 IST

Shri Ananthkumar inaugurates 18th All India Whips’ Conference at Udaipur, Rajasthan

Whips’ Conference is like twin Rainbows – Rainbow of various Political Parties and Rainbow of various States: Shri Ananthkumar

Debates held in Legislatures should be cordial and graceful, aimed at making a difference to the lives of the people: Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia

The 18th All India Whips’ Conference was inaugurated by Shri Ananthkumar, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chemical & Fertilizers today at Udaipur, Rajasthan. Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, presided over the inaugural session as the Chief Guest. The two-day conference is hosting around 90 Delegates belonging to 19 States and Centre. The conference will conclude on 9th January, 2018.

In his inaugural address, Shri Ananthkumar informed that the duty of a Whip is not only to monitor the Members of the party in Legislature but also to moderate and motivate them. He compared the Whips Conference to twin Rainbows – Rainbow of various Political Parties and Rainbow of various States and stated that Parliamentary Democracy is the best form of democracy. The entire purpose of this conference is to strengthen the parliamentary democracy, its institutions and ultimately serve the people at large, the Minister added.

Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia welcomed all the delegates to State of Rajasthan and to city of Lakes, Udaipur and expressed her happiness that her State is hosting the prestigious Conference. She impressed that the debates held in Legislatures should be cordial and graceful, aimed at making a difference to the lives of the people of the country.

On this occasion a coffee table book ‘New India – We Resolve to make’ showcasing exhibitions held at 39 destinations across the country on India’s freedom movement from 1857 to 1947 showing the various activities initiated to attain the freedom from British Rule and the five-year period from 2017 to 2022 to provide a unique opportunity of ‘Sankalp se Sidhi’ towards a ‘New India’ was released by Smt. Vasundhara Raje.

During the day, two Sessions will be held, first to deliberate on the Action Taken Report on recommendations of the last two conferences, received from the States/UTs and second, an interactive session on Efficient Functioning of Legislatures. On the last day, the delegates will deliberate on rolling out of e-Vidhan in State Legislatures to digitize and make their functioning paperless.

Other dignitaries present on the occasion included Shri Vijay Goel, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Shri Rakesh Singh, BJP Chief Whip in Lok Sabha. Ministers of Government of Rajasthan included Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Home Minister and Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore, Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

The conference provides a platform to Whips of various political parties – ruling as well as opposition at the Centre as well as the States to exchange their views and experiences and discuss the challenges facing them in discharge of their Parliamentary duties and evolve norms for efficient working of parliamentary machinery.



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The Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar addressing the gathering during the Inaugural Session of 18th All India Whips’ Conference, at Udaipur, Rajasthan on January 08, 2018. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel and the Home Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria are also seen.

The Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel, the Home Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore, the Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Yadav and other dignitaries, at the Inaugural Session of 18th All India Whips’ Conference, at Udaipur, Rajasthan on January 08, 2018.

 

[Hindustani78]

New Delhi , January 08, 2018 00:25 IST
Updated: January 08, 2018 11:05 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-to-go-paperless/article22392627.ece

The Centre is proposing a shift to paperless, digitised working in Parliament and State legislatures

The Centre is keen to bring its “go green initiative” to the hallowed portals of Parliament and State Assemblies and move to paperless functioning and digitised proceedings.

On Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar is expected to float the ‘paper-free’ plan at a two-day All India Chief Whips Conference at Udaipur, where rolling out eSansad and eVidhan is part of the agenda.

Chief Whips — lawmakers who enforce party discipline and ensure the party line is followed in Parliament and Assemblies — from across the country will attend.

Going paperless and achieving more automation in State legislatures and Parliament is part of the Modi government’s Digital India plans.

Over the past few years, the Union government has cut down on printing of hard copies of parliamentary documents and reports. In 2016, for instance, the government more than halved the number of printed Budget copies from the previous figure of 5,100. In 2017, on Budget day, only Members of Parliament got hard copies as the Finance Ministry put the Budget speech and proposals on its websites within minutes of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley concluding it.

Apart from saving on costs and paper, an official said, going paperless in Parliament and State Legislatures is “responsive, transparent, productive and more accountable to the public.”

Lawmakers say the idea is good but tough to implement. “It sounds very nice when we say paperless, but it’s like saying cashless after demonetisation. By the next decade, if we get halfway there, we could consider ourselves lucky,” said Derek O’Brien, Leader of the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha.

D. Raja of the Communist Party of India agrees. “I was a member of a delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to South Korea where we saw MPs had their own keyboards and terminals at their seats. It’s good but we cannot shift to such a system overnight,” he said. The Chief Whips will get a chance to suggest ways for efficient working of Parliament and State legislatures. Their ideas will be sent to Chief Ministers and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
09-January, 2018 16:40 IST
18th All India Whips’ Conference, 2018 concludes

The Conference gives Ten Recommendations for Efficient Functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures
The two-day 18th All India Whips’ Conference, 2018 concluded in Udaipur, Rajasthan today. The Conference was jointly inaugurated on 8th January, 2018 by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Ananthkumar and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje, who was also the Chief Guest in the Inaugural Function. Shri Kailash Chandra Meghwal, Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, presided over the valedictory and concluding session today. Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Shri Vijay Goel, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Home Minister and Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Government of Rajasthan were also present. Around 90 delegates including Ministers, Chief Whips and Whips in Parliament and State Legislatures participated in the conference.



The First Technical Session, ‘Action Taken Report (ATR) received from the States /UTs on the recommendations of the 16th and 17th All India Whips’ Conferences held at Goa and Visakhapatnam respectively’, was presided over and moderated by Shri Vijay Goel. The Second Technical Session, ‘Efficient Functioning of Legislatures’, was presided over by Shri Ananthkumar in the presence of Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Vijay Goel and Home Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria. The Third Technical Session, ‘Rolling out e-Sansad/e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures to digitize and make their functioning paperless’, was presided over by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal. While deliberating the usefulness and its limitations, the delegates wished all the success to e-Sansad/e-Vidhan MMP Project in the country. Delegates also shared their experiences and concern regarding various aspects of implementing the recommendations.



In the concluding session, Ten Recommendations were discussed and adopted unanimously by the conference. The recommendations are regarding the Reform of Zero Hour for prompt reply and ATR from concerned Ministry; developing the concept of Committee Hour for discussing reports of various Committees by the Legislatures; Reforms in the structure of Private Members Business; Legislative framework for more working days in both Union and State Legislatures; Infrastructural and Institutional support to Chief Whips for better coordination and functioning of Legislatures and Parliament; Digitization of the Secretariats of the State Legislatures; Consensus building in the Legislatures for not going to the well of the House by the Members etc. Follow up action on the Recommendations made by the Conference will be taken by Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.



In his inaugural address, Shri Ananthkumar had opined that Whips play three Dimensional Role – Monitoring, Moderating and Motivating. He urged his fellow legislators to ‘Discuss’, ‘Debate’ and ‘Decide’ but not to ‘Disturb’. He observed that the basic purpose of the Conference is to discuss various aspects of parliamentary democracy which is the best form of Government among the available alternatives and to come out with some concrete resolutions so that the people of the country can be served in a better way. Smt. Vasundhara Raje had stated that a legislative body should work like a family where despite of strong debate there must be mutual respect among the fellow Members.



In the Valedictory Session, Shri Kailash Chandra Meghwal appreciated the participation of delegates and views expressed by them for better functioning of Parliamentary institutions. Shri Rajender Singh Rathore, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Vijay Goel, Union Ministers of State also spoke in the session.



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[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar in a group photograph with the Ministers, Chief Whips and Whips in Parliament and State Legislatures, during the 18th All India Whips’ Conference, at Udaipur, in Rajasthan on January 09, 2018. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Home Minister Rajasthan, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore and other dignitaries are also seen.