Digital India Awards (DIA) 2020 | UPSC

DIGITAL INDIA AWARDS 2020

OVERVIEW

• The Government of India has consistently been deploying innovative digital solutions to enhance the quality and reach of government services to citizens.

• With the swiftly growing spread of internet & mobile, citizens are empowered to gain from government services using any digital device, anywhere, any time.
• As government entities at all levels – Centre, State & across India – continue undertaking various initiatives to provide accessible information & services, the Digital India Awards (DIA) offers an apt opportunity to showcase such initiatives.

AIM

• The aim to promote innovation in eGovernance and digital transformation of government service delivery mechanism.

ORGANISERS

• The Digital India Awards (DIA), instituted under the aegis of National Portal of India.

AWARD CATEGORIES

The 6^th Digital India Awards 2020 have been announced under the following six categories:

1.INNOVATION IN PANDEMIC

• To felicitate a Government Entity which has developed an outstanding, innovative digital solution to facilitate the citizens to undertake various activities with ease during the time of pandemic in areas like communication, health, education, travel etc.
• Or to ensure continuity of government services.

2.EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL GOVERNANCE – MINISTRY / DEPARTMENT (CENTRAL)

• To felicitate a Ministry or Department of the Government of India which has a comprehensive digital presence and displays a high level inter and intra-Department Integration in its digital initiatives.
• Integration with electronic authentication and digital payments are also assessed.

3.EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL GOVERNANCE – STATE / UT

• The Award acknowledges the State/UT of India that displays exemplary initiative in establishing comprehensive digital presence in sectors like health, labour, finance, social justice and environment leading to the accomplishment of sustainable development goals.

4.EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL GOVERNANCE – DISTRICT

• To reward the accomplishments of the District administration which has displayed exemplary focus on providing comprehensive information to the citizens in the regional language.
• Entries must display the spectrum of coverage highlighting the important facets of the district in terms of tourism, art, culture, handicraft and access to utilities.

5.OPEN DATA CHAMPION

• This is awarded for proactive, timely and regular release of datasets/resources through Web Services/APIs on the Open Government Data (OGD) Platform in compliance with the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP).

6.EXEMPLARY PRODUCT

• The award honors those products that have made their mark in the field of Digital Governance.
• The product must have shown a high degree of replicability, scalability and must be successfully implemented by government departments / entities
• Aspect of Digital security is a primary criterion of evaluation.
• In addition to above six categories, Jury Choice Award will be conferred to honour excellence in design and implementation of National Public Digital Platform.

ELIGIBILITY

• Central Government Ministries /Departments /Offices /Institutions, State Government Departments /Offices /Institutions, District Administrations and Indian Missions Abroad were eligible to apply for the Digital India Awards.
• A project could be nominated for more than one category.

JURY AND NOMINATIONS

• In order to initiate and steer the activities for the Digital India Awards 2020, a high level Jury under the Chairmanship of Secretary, MeitY with representation from government, industry and academia was constituted.
• Online nomination process for DIA 2020 commenced from the 23^rd October and was open for one month, during which time 402 nominations were received.

BACKGROUND

• Digital India Awards have been institutionalized under the ambit of National Portal of India to honor exemplary initiatives/practices in Digital-Governance.

• The awards have been held for 5 seasons earlier, in 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016 & 2018.
• The Awards were initially known as Web Ratna Awards until  2014 and were re-named Digital India Awards from the 2016 season.