Paperless Parliament: Tabs, webcasts to replace bulky documents

The new tech-savvy prime minister may soon help in turning the Indian Parliament into a paperless office. Already, PM Modi has urged all his ministers to use social media to connect with people. Now, taking another step towards more advanced e-governance methods, he also seems to be pushing towards soft copies replacing bulky documents.[caption id="attachment_1552375" align="alignleft" width="380"] Screengrab of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Google+ hangout.[/caption]The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been campaigning to end all hard copy documents and instead, use only emails and other soft copies for all proceedings.According to a report in the Economic Times, the NIC this year has included "preloaded tabs for MPs, an online messaging system that will replace 'paper slips', live webcast of house sessions, and of course, a detailed training programme for the parliamentarians."All Members of Parliament (MPs) will be given a pre-loaded tablet. This will come with unique email addresses that have already been configured for them, the report said.The tabs will also carry a list of the day's agenda, minutes of previous sessions and other documents, noted the ET report.Additionally, the NIC is also looking at initiating a messenger service that will help MPs communicate with each other inside the Parliament.The ET report said: "Inside the house, there is no wi-fi facility but to help MPs connect with each other in the lobby that has high-speed network, we will have a messenger system that can be accessed in areas other than the house. They can dispose of files, discuss the session and reply to e-mails."The MPs will be given a choice -- use only soft copies, or ask for hard copy documents. NIC officials are hoping that a lot of MPs will opt for the soft copy option.Since close to 58 percent of the MPs elected this term are first timers, the NIC is hopeful that the debutantes will be comfortable with the new technology and help in making the offices paperless. They have also lined up a number of tutorials for the MPs to help them use this new technology, noted the report.The move, if implemented successfully, will be a landmark move in making the parliament offices more systematic, organised and eco-friendly. But this is not the first time the idea has been mooted. Back in 2011, a scheme was launched to promote the idea among MPs of using tablet PCs. A report in The Hindustan Times said the NIC had developed applications compatible with Apple and Samsung tablets to see, for example, the day's starred questions and more at the touch of a finger. At that time too, reports had suggested that bulky paperwork would become a thing of the past.