New Delhi: Chhattisgarh has been awarded the Computer Society of India (CSI) and Nihilent Best e-Governed State Award for 2007-08, while Kerala's Pallakad district was chosen the winner of the Best e-District Award in India.

Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), Hyderabad was given Special Jury Award for outstanding national effort in launching '108' emergency services in 10 states using latest technologies, a CSI release said.

The CSI-Nihilent e-Governance Awards 2007-08 for initiatives during the period April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 were announced at a function held during the 6th International Conference on e-Governance at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi.



Held for the sixth successive year, the awards are an annual process of identifying and recognising the best e-Governance initiatives in India in the citizen services, the release said.

Speaking at the Awards function, Computer Society of India President KK Aggarwal said, "The aim of these awards is to recognise and replicate the successful initiatives of states and organisations in achieving good governance using ICT."

Nihilent Chief Risk Manager and Managing Consultant Shobha Agarwal said, "The biggest challenge in e-Governance is change management encompassing cultural, organisational, process, people and technological challenges. A metrics driven governance would enable a government department or municipal corporation to perform its functions efficiently and effectively to achieve its public mission."

Motor Vehicle Department in Kerala, Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection in Chhattisgarh and Board of Revenue in Uttar Pradesh were declared joint winners of the Best e-Governed Department Award.

e-Arik from Arunachal Pradesh and Ever Alert from Lakshadweep received Jury Awards for their significant contributions in remote and rural areas, the CSI release said.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as framework in the evaluation process. The awards for Best e-Governed State and Best e-Governed Department were based on parameters of e-Governance road map, IT policy framework, e-readiness initiative and e-Governance initiatives (improving governance, impact on citizens and capacity building).

The assessments for Best e-Governed Projects were done on selected result indicators—key performance, convenience to citizens, sustainability, innovation and replicability and enabler indicators (leadership, people, process, partnership and resources).