Rajasthan wants Centre to share to Aadhaar data with it

Rajasthan government has requested the Centre to share the Aadhaar data saying that it will be able to properly integrate state-run benefit schemes.
"At this moment, Aadhaar seeding is not available to us. We are still trying to get it. Hope we get it... Life will be much more simpler for us," Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said while inaugurating first Rajasthan IT day.
The state-government runs an integrated programme for benefit transfers - Bhamashah Yojna. Under it, the government directly credits benefits to the entitled.
"Aadhaar, Jandhan and Bhamashah, using these three platforms will be able to give Rajasthan a leg up perhaps over most other states," Raje said.

State IT Secretary Akhil Arora said the Supreme Court has only asked the Centre not to share Aadhaar data with private entities because there are privacy concerns, but it can be shared with state governments.
"It will help us (avoid) duplication of work and better deliver state run services. There are many people in the state whose Aadhaar have been generated but not delivered to them by post. We need to complete state data base of people with Aadhaar," Arora said.

Raje inaugurated RajNet which provides conferencing connectivity between state-government offices and gram panchayats.
"Today I am very proud to be able to dedicate RajNet because this network is now going to connect gram panchayat to Jaipur... I believe people in panchayats are going to feel comfortable using this network and getting their work done," Raje said.

Rajasthan had established a metropolitan area network (MAN) in 2005 covering around 48 various offices located in Jaipur city.
Thereafter, the networking for 33 District Collectorates, 240 Block Head Quarters and approximately 3,500 offices located in these District and Block Headquarters under Rajasthan State Wide Area Network (RajSWAN) project was sanctioned.
The state government now envisages to expand the network to cover government offices in all 9,894 Gram Panchayats, 183 municipal areas and other offices in Rajasthan to cater voice, video and data services.
"We have opted for special purpose vehicle under Bharat
Net project. Once centre clears it we will work on it to strengthen connectivity in the states," Arora said.

The Chief Minister said Rajasthan's endeavour is to emerge as start-up entrepreneur hub of Northern India and the state will soon set-up a council to foster its environment.
"We are going to set up a start-up council in which we all will be there but I want to bring in energy from outside. I should be announcing that very shortly... Apart from what we will be doing in government we need to be open to ideas from outside," Raje said.
She said the state government is looking at setting up a cyber crime unit in each of the police ranges on priority basis.

The Chief Minister also said that the state is going to add happiness index as one of the factors to measure development in the state.
"Basically idea is to make people happy... I am going to add, what i call, the happiness index for our people in to the broad spectrum of road to progress," Raje said.