Jharkhand, Oracle ink MoU to drive digital transformation

The Government of Jharkhand and Oracle today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) intended to improve citizen services and make Jharkhand an attractive destination for start-ups.

The MoU was signed by Sunil Kumar Barnwal, Secretary, IT and e-Governance, of Jharkhand and Shailender Kumar, Regional Managing Director of Oracle India, in the presence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Oracle CEO Safra Catz at Oracle OpenWorld in New Delhi.

Oracle will offer its support to the state through its vast portfolio of technology solutions, including Oracle Cloud - which are already powering a large number of governments globally. These solutions cater to the growing requirements and expectations of citizens, businesses and government departments for smarter, transparent and efficient governance within the state of Jharkhand.

As part of the MoU, the Government of Jharkhand and Oracle will jointly explore and identify areas in which Oracle's latest cloud-based technologies can be used to deliver improved citizen services and to address the state's citizen and business requirements.

Jharkhand's administration intends to use Oracle's cloud-based solutions to build a platform to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among its youth, helping establish Jharkhand as a preferred start-up destination in India. Earlier this year, Jharkhand received investment support from the union government for an internal venture capital fund to support start-ups in the state.[1] Under the MoU, Oracle and the Government of Jharkhand will collaborate to create proof of concepts and help new startups using Oracle Cloud-based platforms to operationalize citizen services and startup centres that would further the vision of the chief minister to increase employment and alleviate poverty.

"The Government of Jharkhand is steadfast in working toward the benefit of its citizens. We want to be the top choice with global companies for investments and be India's start-up hub. Oracle's rich global experience, technology expertise and strong capabilities, make them ideal partners for us," said Chief Minister Das.

"India's rapid transformation echoes the generational shift taking place in the technology industry," said Safra Catz, CEO, Oracle.

He added, "Just as cloud is triggering broad innovation within the technology industry, it will also drive changes and increase efficiency within emerging economies like India. Oracle is looking forward to working with Jharkhand's administration to support entrepreneurship, create opportunity, and improve services for its citizens, as we have done with governments around the world.