Itanagar, Aug. 13 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Friday launched the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) providing secure digital connectivity to all district headquarters and local administrative centres.
The programme, held on the virtual mode on the SWAN platform itself was joined by 17 district administrations and 98 block-level administrations.
Under this scheme, digital connectivity is being provided between the state headquarters and block-level administrative centres via district and sub-divisional headquarters, in a vertical hierarchical structure with a minimum bandwidth capacity of 2 Mbps per link, a statement from the CMO said.
Arunachal SWAN (ArSWAN), a scheme under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, envisages establishing 184 SWAN Point of Presence (PoPs) in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Khandu requested Union secretary for Electronics and Information Technology Ajay Prakash Sawhney to extend the network to other unconnected districts created in recent years.
Only 17 districts were identified for inclusion under the scheme, but in recent years few more districts were created for ease of administration, which also needs to be taken under the ambit of SWAN.
Khandu also requested the ministry to extend all possible assistance to the state's Information Technology and Communications department to functionalise all remaining PoPs in the state for seamless communication and digital governance.
Interacting with deputy commissioners of remote districts like Kra Daadi and Longding, which was not possible in earlier video conferences due to poor connectivity, Khandu said the newly launched network would now facilitate interrupted communication between the state headquarter and district headquarters.
As the district headquarters will be further connected with sub-divisional and block headquarters, Khandu said, now the deputy commissioners could be in direct touch with their subordinate officers through video conferencing and IP telephone and governance would become cost-effective and prompt.
The chief minister urged the deputy commissioners to utilise the newly acquired digital connectivity not only for ease of governance but also for delivering speedy service to the rural populace.
It will reduce the cost of communication between government departments at different locations and will provide secure network infrastructure to enable electronic transfer of sensitive data, payments etc, he pointed out.
Terming the launch as a historic step towards e-governance based on transparency and accountability, the chief minister said, geographically we may be far away but digitally we are now next to each other.