L The second day of the two-day long 15th Annual National Conference, organized by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch (UPEW) at DDU State Institute of Rural Development on the 2nd and 3rd March 2019, was successfully concluded.
The first session of the day focused on “Information & Communication Technology (ICT) for Better Governance”, chaired by Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd), Head-ADR and National Election Watch. The panel members included Mr. Jaskirat Singh, Trustee – ADR/NEW and Founder – CRAMAT, Mr. Chandrakant Naidu, Chief Editor at NewsNest, Ms. Shelley Thakral, Head of Programs, Facebook and Mr. Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, Founder Factly.in and ADR State Coordinator – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The issues raised during the discussion by some of the panelists focused on technology as a force multiplier for improving the lives of people, by helping them perform better and faster as well as on its role in promoting good governance. At the same time, the issue of misuse of ICT by spreading fake news was also discussed. The panel agreed that simplification of government process, reduction of human intervention, improving transparency and timely delivery of services are some of the goals of ICT.
Mr. Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu said ICT works better in absence of human intervention in instances like online ticketing while it fails where human intervention is needed as in case of online grievance redressal.
Ms. Shelley Thakral asserted that sharing the right information is key. She added that a bottom-up approach is needed for ensuring that ICT is used for better governance.
The discussion concluded with panel members collectively advocating the need for digital literacy by educating masses about how to use information technology.
The second and the final session of the day was a discussion on “Role of Youth & Voter Awareness: In preparation for General Elections 2019” chaired by Dr. Vipul Mudgal, Director of Common Cause and Trustee ADR.
Shri Lakku Venkateshwarlu, IAS, Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Heera Lal, IAS, District Magistrate & Collector, Banda and Mohd Zeeshan, Founder of YES Foundation, Lucknow were some of the panel members.
Strengthening democracy through awareness among voters especially the youth, increasing voter participation and responsible and ethical voting were some of the issues raised by the panel members and audience during the discussion.
Speaking on the efforts to improve the voter turnout in Banda, Shri Heera Lal spoke about fixing a target of 90 per cent voter turnout in the upcoming elections in Banda, including reaching out to disabled voters. He talked about using cultural programs as a means to reach out to voters.
Concluding the discussion, Shri Lakku Venkateshwarlu said that politicians are driven by vested and sectarian interests and are not committed to public cause.
Speaking on the Resolutions and ‘Next Steps for National Election Watch (NEW)’, Prof. Trilochan Sastry (Founder member & Trustee – ADR/NEW) recommended that in order to prevent electoral malpractices, an example needs to be set by suspending elections in five such constituencies where Model Code of Conduct is violated.
The two-day national conference concluded with Maj. Gen Anil Verma (Retd) thanking all the panelists, participants, DDU State Institute of Rural Development, and ADR team for making the event a success.
