Jammu : Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, on Saturday chaired the Empowered Committee meeting of the Centre for Innovation, Technology Adoption, and Governance (CITaG) to review its functioning in Jammu and Kashmir.
Those who attended the meeting included Principal Secretary, Finance; Director, IIM Jammu; Commissioner Secretary, GAD; Secretary, Planning; Secretary, Law besides other concerned officers from IIM, CITaG and government departments.
During the meeting, Dulloo highlighted CITaG as a crucial platform for fostering coordination among the premier institutions such as IIT, IIM and AIIMS with the government. He emphasized the need for developing governance models aligned with future demands, ensuring that J&K remains at the forefront of technological advancements.
Expressing urgency, he stated that rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence, Bioengineering, Climate Change and Quantum Computing necessitate immediate action. “If we fail to adapt to these transformations, we will be left behind with none to blame,” he remarked.
He further stressed that solutions are available for addressing the physiological, biological and environmental concerns, but the key lies in adopting relevant technologies. He urged the Planning, Development & Monitoring Department (PD&MD) to explore technological solutions for bridging the governance gaps.
Citing practical applications, he noted that AI can enable doctors in remote areas to diagnose patients accurately and empower the teachers to provide personalized learning interventions.
To enhance CITaG’s effectiveness, Dulloo directed the officials to make its verticals fully operational and strengthen the capacity of government officers to function optimally under this framework.
About the key achievements and progress made, so far, Commissioner Secretary, PD&MD, Talat Parvez Rohella made out that a dedicated CITaG Cell, led by the Director General of PD&MD, has been established to oversee Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and state transformation initiatives. He added that the government has allocated ?2.18 crore for CITaG’s initiatives, with a proposed annual budget of ?7.61 crore for the next fiscal.
Regarding the capacity building, he informed the meeting that training sessions have been conducted, equipping 197 officials with skills in governance transformation. An additional 200 officials are set to undergo the training in the coming months, he concluded.
Director IIM Jammu, Professor B.S Sahay besides giving the suggestions for prioritized uptake also informed about the plan for further streamlining the working of this centre. He gave out that it is being planned to initiate the recruitment drive completing the hiring process for CITaG, including the selection of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and domain experts.
He revealed the training modules for future ready governance covering the key areas such as AI and digital governance, Blockchain Applications in public services, Big data for policy development, cybersecurity and risk management, leadership and digital transformation in governance.
It was also informed that the State Institute of Transformation (SIT) concentrating on advancements in tourism, education, agriculture and urban planning is also going to be a reality soon.
Regarding implementation of PPP projects, the meeting was apprised that the bidding process for two Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects had been concluded.
Moreover, it was added that Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for four initiatives stands finalized besides completing feasibility studies for eight projects. It was also suggested that in order to overcome the shortage of professionals in the centre it is being planned that a student internship program offering a monthly stipend to the students involved in governance research projects.
Pertinent to mention here that the CITaG, a pioneering initiative under the Planning Development & Monitoring Department (PD&MD) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu was established with the support of NITI Aayog, the Department of Economic Affairs (Ministry of Finance, GoI) and the J&K government. It aims to drive the governance reforms through research, policy development and capacity building thereby building a conducive environment for investments and public-private partnerships (PPP) while strengthening future-ready governance structures here in the J&K.
