On 21st September, 2023, Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Bhagwant Mann attended the inaugural session of National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) in Punjab Vidhan Sabha. During the occasion, all Ministers, MLAs and Administrative Secretaries were present.

In his welcome address, Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Sardar Kultar Singh Sandhwan acknowledged the efforts made by NIC Punjab to implement NEVA in a timely manner. He envisaged implementing a total software solution for empowering Members starting with paperless House Business, internal working of the paperless House Committees and e-Constituency management.

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Bhagwant Mann apart from launching the National          e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), also inaugurated/launched 4 more initiatives for making NeVA implementation a success in Punjab. He inaugurated a 2-day Conference-cum-Workshop on NeVA and released a vision brochure for NeVA Punjab. He also launched the new website of Punjab Vidhan Sabha (https://punjabassembly.nic.in)  developed by NIC Punjab including NeVA 2.0 functionalities for internal working of the paperless House Committees and   e-Constituency management. He also inaugurated NeVA Sewa Kendra in Punjab Vidhan Sabha to facilitate training and capacity building for the members and secretariat staff. He also inaugurated a Digital Wing in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat, to be jointly managed by NIC Punjab and Punjab Vidhan Sabha, and help in successful implementation of NeVA.

Shri Vivek Verma, SIO & DDG, NIC Punjab gave a presentation on NeVA Project covering the efforts & challenges in its implementation. He also provided an overview of the roles of NIC, NICSI and DoGR Punjab in implementing the NeVA project in Punjab. He apprised about the current status of NeVA and the lacing of the whole Vidhan Sabha premises with high-speed internet and wi-fi.

Shri Dharmesh Kumar, Sr. Director (IT) & HoD, NIC Punjab gave a presentation on software modules for the working of the House, House Committees and e-Constituencies Management. He also explained that because the current NeVA software is only designed to handle paperless House business, NIC Punjab has developed complementary software (NeVA 2.0) to meet the needs of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, for the internal working of the paperless House Committees and e-Constituency management. Thus, NeVA along with NeVA 2.0 provides a total software solution to Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

Shri Sanjeev, Sr. Director (IT) & HoD, NIC-MoPA shared the MoPA guidelines and experiences of implementing NeVA Project in various States of India. Smt. Preeti Yadav Assistant Director (IT), NIC-MoPA, Shri Mukesh Under Secretary, MoPA and Shri Sameer Varshney Project Manager NeVA, MoPA were also present.

All officers and officials of the NIC Punjab State Unit also attended the NeVA conference and contributed in managing the conference.

Contribution of Shri Sanjay Puri, Director (IT), Shri Rajesh Thapa, Jt. Director (IT) and Shri Virender Dhanda, Deputy Director (IT) of NIC Punjab Div-I was commendable.

The Chief Minister, while addressing the Assembly said it was a revolutionary step aimed at making the Punjab legislature more responsive. He said it was a matter of pride that Punjab was the first Vidhan Sabha to launch various applications as a total software solution under the scope of the NeVA project.

The Chief Minister said the digitisation of the Vidhan Sabha would act as a corner stone for enhancing the efficiency of MLAs to raise the issues of public concern. He envisioned that MLAs of both the opposition and treasury banks would take mileage out of this initiative.

The Chief Minister said this was the dawn of a new era as the functioning of the State Legislative Assembly would be now paperless. He said under the NeVA project, it would be easier to trace decisions and documents as well as to share information for

transparent and answerable processes at various levels for empowerment of the MLAs. He also said more such efforts would be made to ensure that people are benefited from it.

Apart from iPads fixed on table of each member in the House, the Chief Minister also distributed iPads to the Ministers and MLAs for working from Home.

A vote of thanks was given by Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sardar Jai Krishan Singh.