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The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) has launched the NeSDA 2025 Portal aimed at strengthening the assessment of digital governance and improving online service delivery across States, Union Territories, and Central Ministries.
According to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, the initiative is designed to evaluate how effectively government services are being delivered online from a citizen-centric perspective and to promote better performance in e-governance systems. The portal was launched during a meeting with nodal officers of Central Ministries and States/UTs, where the assessment framework, workflows, and reporting systems were presented. NeSDA (National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment) is a biennial framework used to measure the depth and effectiveness of online service delivery. It is based on the UN's Online Service Index and adapted for India's federal structure to assess availability, accessibility, and maturity of digital services. Explaining its purpose, the framework states that NeSDA "serves as an important benchmarking exercise for improving online service delivery across the country and for promoting best practices among States, UTs and Central Ministries/Departments." The NeSDA 2025 framework will evaluate government portals across multiple sectors including finance, education, health, labour, agriculture, transport, tourism, and public grievance systems. It will also include expanded coverage with services from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and assess a total of 59 mandatory services for States and UTs and 43 services for Central Ministries. The assessment will be based on parameters such as accessibility, ease of use, content availability, information security and privacy, integrated service delivery, open government data, e-participation, and use of emerging technologies. According to the framework, it focuses on "availability, accessibility and maturity of online service delivery across States, Union Territories and focus Central Ministries/Departments." The NeSDA 2025 Portal will act as a centralized platform for data submission by States and Ministries. It will also support consultations, capacity-building sessions, and regular review meetings during the assessment cycle. Officials have been instructed to ensure timely submission of data and coordination with DARPG to ensure smooth implementation of the exercise, which aims to improve digital governance and enhance citizen experience in accessing public services. (ANI)
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