Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS): Emphasising the importance of e-governance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said it was because of its swift use that the state government could deposit the first two instalments of Rs 1,500 each directly into the bank accounts of eligible women beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana in a very short time.

"E-governance is not just a technology but a medium to change the mindset of people. This leads to transparency and trust in the administration among the common citizens. It has become possible to register the property in relation to buying and selling of houses in any deputy registrar's office in Maharashtra. The process of buying and selling property online is going on smoothly due to e-governance," he added. CM Shinde was speaking at the inauguration function of the 27th National Conference on e-governance titled 'Developed India: Safe and Sustainable e-Service Delivery'.

The CM said the state government was aggressively implementing e-governance practices taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "minimum government, maximum administration" principle.

The Chief Minister further said that now the entire filing work is being done in the Chief Minister's Secretariat through the e-office. In future, the work in the ministries will be done through e-office. He also added that all the services are being provided online under Seva Adhikar in the state.

CM Shinde said that a central registration centre has been started near the entrance of the Mantralaya and all letters are being accepted here. This is saving people's time. In this regard, the government has planned the development of a data centre hub in Navi Mumbai in the near future.

The Chief Minister further said, "Maharashtra is the first state to implement an e-governance system and we have also prepared an information technology policy for this and also contemplated using artificial intelligence. The AI will be used in industry, agriculture, and health along with speeding up the administrative work. The sole objective is that the common people should get justice by reducing the administrative hassles and procedural delays. The government wants the administration to be more responsive, inclusive and citizen-centric in future," he added.

On this occasion, the name of the General Administration Department was changed from 'Administrative Reforms, Structure and Procedures' to 'Administrative Innovation, Excellence and Good Governance'. The announcement in this regard was made by the Chief Minister.