Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje launches several IT firsts at Bikaner DigiFest

The DigiFest at Bikaner, Rajasthan, saw a slew of new digitally powered initiatives launched at its conclusion. The premise was to actually transform the life of the common man through the use of technology across different sectors - agriculture, governance, finance, education and even traditional arts and crafts.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said, “In 2003, I inherited poverty, utter lack of development and practically no digital infrastructure. Rajasthan was ‘BIMARU’ and the malaise ran deep. Realising the cure was a complete shift in Government service delivery and infrastructure, we worked to build a Digital Rajasthan.”

Referring to the flagship eMitra service delivery programme, the Chief Minister said that from 50 services and 6,600 kiosks in 2013, eMitra has grown to 400 services and 53,000 kiosks, making it the one of the largest in the country. The Bhamashah Yojana, she said, has handled Rs 20,000 crores in direct benefit transfers. In addition to releasing a YourStory report on the vibrant startup ecosystem in the state, the Chief Minister made several key announcements.

New iStart incubation centres in Jodhpur and Kota

After laying the foundation stone for two new iStart Nest incubation centres in Kota and Jodhpur, the Chief Minister remarked, “Startups from all across the country need to find it easy to work and do business in Rajasthan. For that the first step is to foster and encourage people to startup in the state.” At present, the iStart programme is incubating over 100 startups in state and 750 startups are registered on the platform.

Abhay command centres for seven more districts

Abhay command centres help local authorities control and prevent crime. The goal of having such centres is to ensure that any citizen in trouble can easily reach an authority in case of an emergency. The Abhay Command Centres are completely digitised, which makes it easier for the authorities to quickly detect locations and even send help. The CM launched Abhay command centres for Baran, Nagaur, Sirohi, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Jalore. Command centres are already operational in 7 divisional headquarters.

Rajasthan security operations and disaster recovery centres

Given the growing incidence of cybercrime, the CM also announced the launch of Rajasthan Security Operations Centre for cybersecurity in Jaipur. According to the government, the security operations centre will be able to detect and track all forms of cybercrime and data breach.

A disaster recovery centre in Jodhpur was also announced. In the wake of any calamity or disaster, the centre will be able to restore and recover any stolen data and help restore normalcy.

Other announcements made on the day included:

· A digitised, integrated health management system that will help people access healthcare more easily

· A Jal Dhaara command centre in Jaipur that will ensure that villages in the state receive a continuous source of water; initially targets 300 villages

· Raj WiFi, which will deliver WiFi to 2,500 locations at the panchayat level in the state to ensure that every citizen has easy access to the internet

· The Rajasthan Wildlife Surveillance System, built using cutting-edge technology, will prevent poaching or misuse of any kind of forest or natural resources.