Govt launches eGreetings portal

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today launched the eGreetings portal as part of the Digital India initiative, that aims to promote an eco-friendly way of sending greetings by government ministries and officials to colleagues and friends.

The portal, launched on eve of India's 67th Independence Day celebrations, has a collection of designs made by the people.

Talking to reporters after the launch, Prasad said, " I warmly congratulate IT department, all the officers for coming with this novel idea of having this kind of IT greeting card."

"This is basically in consonance with the larger commitment of the Prime Minister to ensure that there is a proper IT revolution in India followed by connectivity."

It is a good idea to enhance Internet connectivity with eGreetings on August 15 with the larger cooperation of the people of India through crowd sourcing, he added.

"I wish that not only government, not only the ministers and officers, but the people of India would use this. I would say eGreeting on August 15 to show their commitment of a new resurgent India propelled by digital connectivity," he said.

Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) Secretary R S Sharma said the department received a total of 3,572 entries for greeting designs, out of which 14 were selected. Six greetings have been made by DEITY.

The department will award all the 14 entries with a cash prize to encourage more people to participate in making designs for the website, he added.

The portal -- http://egreetings.India.Gov.In -- also allows users to select a quote of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be sent as part of the greeting.

To send a greeting, a user needs to be a registered user of the government's email service or MyGov platform or the India Gov platform, sources added.

The Digital India initiative, under which the government proposes to spend Rs 500 crore this fiscal, aims to bridge the divide between digital haves and have-nots.

The programme will ensure broadband connectivity at village level, improved access to services through IT-enabled platforms, greater transparency in government processes and increased indigenous production of IT hardware and software for exports and improved domestic availability.