New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly was signed on Thursday.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari joined the occasion virtually by connecting through video conferencing.

Addressing the gathering, Rijiju highlighted the importance of digital transformation in legislative institutions and reiterated the Centre's commitment towards supporting the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in its journey towards becoming a fully digital House, a release said.

Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the state government's commitment towards modernising governance institutions through the adoption of technology.

Meghwal emphasised the role of digital platforms in strengthening legislative functioning and enabling Members to access legislative information in a timely and efficient manner.

Murugan highlighted the importance of technology in strengthening citizen engagement, improving transparency and enhancing accessibility to legislative information.

Rathindra Bose, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, expressed confidence that the implementation of NeVA would strengthen the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of legislative functioning in the State.

Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, in his welcome remarks, highlighted the significance of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly joining the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) initiative. He asserted NeVA will help the assembly to function with greater transparency, punctuality and efficiency.

Satya Prakash, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Mission Leader (NeVA), in his address, assured that all necessary assistance would be extended by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Central Project Monitoring Unit (CPMU) under the NeVA Project to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in its journey towards becoming a fully digital House.

The MoU was signed by Satya Prakash, who is also Mission Leader (NeVA), on behalf of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Soumendra Nath Das, Principal Secretary, West Bengal Legislative Assembly and Sampa Dhar, Special Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs Department, West Bengal Government.

With the signing of the MoU, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has become the 33rd Legislature in the country to join the NeVA initiative, bringing the nation another step closer towards the vision of 'One Nation - One Application' for legislative governance.

Twenty-one legislatures have successfully transitioned to fully digital functioning through the NeVA platform, the release said.

The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a Mission Mode Project of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs aimed at digitising and modernising the functioning of Legislatures across the country through a common digital platform. The initiative is aligned with the Prime Minister's vision of Digital India and seeks to promote paperless, transparent, efficient and citizen-centric legislative governance.

The release said that the NeVA platform facilitates end-to-end digital management of legislative business, including Questions, Bills, Notices, Assurances, Committee business, List of Business, Bulletins and other House-related activities. It also provides members with seamless access to legislative information and creates a permanent digital repository of legislative records and proceedings.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs provides financial assistance, technical support, capacity building and implementation assistance to participating Legislatures under the project. (ANI)