Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, launched the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) on Friday, which would provide secure digital connection to all district headquarters and local administrative centres throughout the state.
For the first time, 17 district administrations and 98 block level administrations attended the inaugural ceremony, which was broadcast live digitally on the SWAN platform in virtual mode.
What is the scheme all about?
According to a statement from the CMO, this concept provides digital connectivity between the state headquarters and block level administrative centres via district and sub-divisional headquarters in a vertical hierarchical structure with a minimum bandwidth capacity of 2 Mbps per link.
The Arunachal SWAN (ArSWAN) initiative, which is sponsored by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, aims to set up 184 SWAN Points of Presence (PoPs) across the state. One state headquarters, 17 district headquarters, and 166 block and horizontal offices are among the 184 locations.
CM Pema Khandu’s request
Pema Khandu requested union secretary for Electronics & Information Technology Ajay Prakash Sawhney, who also attended the program virtually from New Delhi, to expand the network to other disconnected districts developed in recent years.
According to the proposal, only 17 districts were designated for participation in the plan, but in recent years, a few more districts have been created for administrative simplicity, which must also be included in SWAN’s scope.
Khandu also asked the ministry to help the state’s Department of Information Technology and Communications functionalize all remaining points of presence in the state to ensure smooth communication and digital governance.
“SWAN is a reliable network for vertical and horizontal connectivity throughout the state through the means of video conferencing and IP telephone, which we must fully utilize for delivering service to the people at the shortest possible time,” the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh said.
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A future for better communication
Khandu said the newly launched network will now enable seamless and interruption communication between the state headquarter and district heads, which was not possible in previous video conferences due to weak connectivity.
According to Khandu, because the district headquarters would be connected to the sub-divisional and block headquarters, deputy commissioners will be able to communicate directly with their subordinate authorities via video conferencing and IP telephone, making government more cost-effective and timely.