A delegation from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), a department operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in India, is currently in Mauritius, on a five-day visit, up to 25 February 2022, to assist the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, to formulate a digital Government Blueprint.
The delegation comprises the Deputy Director-General of the NIC, Mr Deepak Chandra Misra, and scientists and Senior Technical Officers, Mr Saba Akhtar, and Mrs Gayatri Pandurangi.
In that context, a meeting was chaired, this afternoon, by the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, with the NIC delegation, in presence of the High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, Mrs K. Nandini Singla, at the SICOM Tower, in Ebène. Heads of Departments and representatives from various Ministries also attended the meeting.
In a statement after the meeting, Minister Balgobin underlined that this collaboration is yet another testimony of the unflinching support that India is providing to Mauritius for the growth of the ICT sector and the accelerated digitalisation of public services.
He indicated that key Ministries and departments will have the opportunity to interact with the experts to find the right mix of solutions that will help to accelerate our e-Government agenda. Moreover, he said that the NIC has implemented key ICT projects in India and stressed that the sharing of experience with Mauritius will enable the setting up of various projects in our Ministries.
The Minister underpinned Government’s ambitious e-government agenda which seeks to digitalise the services offered by all Ministries, in a citizen-centric focused manner. He further observed that it is important for Mauritius to adapt to the fast-changing pace of technology and to respond to new challenges in line with the vision of digitalising the country and make of it a technological hub, and underlined the importance of sharing of expertise and knowledge to achieve these goals.
As for the High Commissioner of India, she emphasised that this collaboration, seeking to introduce a state-of-the-art e-governance system in Mauritius, is a sign of the futuristic nature of the Indo-Mauritian partnership. She stressed that India is an old civilisation but a young country that has proven itself to the world in the information technology sphere.
Mrs Singla added that India feels doubly privileged to partner with Mauritius in this sector, and recalled that India shares a unique and special relationship with Mauritius. We stand committed to partnering with Mauritius in a way that we respond to its needs and priorities by providing tailor-made solutions hence improving the life of citizens, she said.
For his part, the Deputy Director-General, Mr Misra, stated that the delegation is here to facilitate the strengthening of the two countries’ relations. According to him, it is a golden opportunity for the Indian and Mauritian Governments to share experience in terms of software products.
He further said that the delegation will work with the concerned departments of various ministries to study their requirement as per their priority and roll out solutions in terms of infrastructure, application software, and capacity building.
