In an effort to augment the quality of citizen services in the state, Punjab today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft India in the presence of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal to use cloud computing infrastructure for better facilities in education, agriculture and healthcare for citizens.The MoU was signed by Mr. Sarvesh Kaushal, Chief Secretary Punjab on behalf of Punjab Government and Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt. Ltd.Speaking on this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister said that the State Government has been using an advanced IT infrastructure to provide citizen services since 2013. “The Government now plans to extend the network across the State using cloud computing infrastructure. Today’s MoU with Microsoft will help us to access the best of Microsoft’s technology and expertise for improvement of digital services to citizens and drive digital inclusion in the state”, he added.
Deputy Chief Minister also informed Mr. Anil Bhansali that Punjab has established 2174 well equipped Sewa Kendras in the state to provide the entire citizen centric services at the door step. He asked Mr. Bansali to use this platform for making better reach to the farmers of the state.Deputy Chief Minister also invited Microsoft India to setup its office at IT city SAS Nagar as state has abundant human resource for IT sector.Interacting with Deputy Chief Minister after signing the MoU, Mr. Anil Bhansali said, “We are happy to bring the power of Microsoft cloud technologies, machine learning and data analytics to the State of Punjab. We are happy to support the Government of Punjab in its effort to enhance citizen services and drive digital inclusion.”He said that Microsoft India would work with the Punjab to support the development of mobile-based solutions and also support the use of machine learning and advanced visualization to help solve challenges in the fields of education, agriculture and healthcare. He further added that Microsoft will also train manpower in advanced IT technology in the State.Mr. Bhansali said that Microsoft has been partnering with Punjab since 2010 and several State Government departments use Microsoft technologies to run their operations and connect better with citizens.Prominent amongst others, Mr. N.S. Kalsi, Additional Chief Secretary Punjab, Mr. Jaspal Singh, Secretary Expenditure and Mr. Gaggandeep singh Brar, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Punjab was also present on this occasion.