“Connectivity in the Northeast remains a core issue and a matter of great concern,” said Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma on Thursday.
Sangma was addressing the delegates at the 22nd National Conference on e-commerce in Shillong.
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“The connectivity issue is something that we really need to look,” he further said.
“No matter how many platforms we come out with, if connectivity is not there, it will defeat half the purpose of all the exercise that we do,” he added.
Another big challenge for the entire region in respect to connectivity is its proximity with international borders as service providers are discouraged to establish towers near the international borders owing to policy provisions.
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“People on the borders often use Bangladesh or Myanmar or perhaps even Chinese mobile network to stay connected with the other parts of the country,” he said.
“This is a big hindrance as well as a national security issue,” Sangma added
“Another important aspect of e-Governance is the data that government collects to make quality decisions,” Sangma further said.
“We as a state government are really looking forward in that line,” Sangma further said.
“Data-driven governance, when it is actually implemented, can have an immense impact at the grassroots level,” he added.
“We should adopt a Shillong Declaration on e-Governance so that important takeaways from the sessions may be referred to and developed upon in the future,” said DoNER minister Jitendra Singh, while addressing the conference.
“Importance of government’s new citizen-friendly initiatives like the dashboards, portals and apps should be highlighted for increasing awareness among the people,” the DoNER minister further added.