Digital governance: Raje in global list of ‘100 most influential people’

The digital initiatives undertaken by Rajasthan government have earned chief minister Vasundhara Raje a place in a list of 100 most influential people in digital governance globally. A UK-based NGO, Apolitical, has released the list following a survey.

“We are excited to present our 2018 list of the world’s 100 most influential people in digital government. It’s the first of its kind to show the international spread of the field, and includes individuals from every continent,” a release by the NGO stated.

Union minister of law and justice and information technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, is the only other politician from the country to be included in the list apart from Raje, who is included in the category ‘politician’. Prasad has been selected in the ‘national government’ section.

Rajasthan government has taken several initiatives in the field of digital transformation from providing internet connectivity in rural areas to having a robust startup policy. The initiative has allowed launch of schemes such as Bhamashah that allow direct benefit transfer to citizens’ bank accounts. The state has been acknowledged as the first to implement an integrated e-governance framework and architecture for leveraging technology.

The survey stated that before Startup India was launched, Rajasthan announced its own ambitious Startup Policy in 2015. It also noticed that in 2018, Raje was awarded ‘chief minister of the year’ at Skoch Summit for her work on e-governance.

Experts have put together the Apolitical 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government. There were 500 nominations from over 130 experts in digital government from national governments, international organisations, academia and business.

The CMO said in a tweet, “CM @VasundharaBJP dedication towards Digital Rajasthan mission is not only celebrated in India but globally. Her name in the @apoliticalco World’s 100 most influential people in Digital Government in 2018 is the testament of her global presence.”

First Published: Aug 12, 2018 22:40 IST