Indian parliament, legislatures going completely paperless

Joining states like Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, Delhi has become the latest to opt for paperless work at its legislative assembly and tabling only of e-documents in the house.

"Delhi Legislative Assembly will be completely paperless now,” tweeted Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister. “All documents and bills will be tabled in e-paper format. Lakhs of pages used during the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly will now be presented as soft copy.” He said it was a move to make the assembly smart and efficient.

The 70 legislators have been given tablets and they will get all information about the assembly proceedings online. The assembly has now got good Wi-Fi connectivity and in the future members will also be able to attend the sessions virtually.

The Himachal Pradesh assembly went paperless way back in 2014, while Jharkhand shifted to the digital process five years later. Last year, the Indian government launched the National E-Vidhan Application (NeVA) project to ensure that parliament and all state legislatures go paperless.

“The e-Vidhan will bring all the legislatures of the country together on one platform to create a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications,” said the ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Earlier this month, Nagaland became the first state assembly to turn completely paperless. "Nagaland becomes India's 1st Legislative Assembly to successfully implement National e-Vidhan project,” tweeted Pralhad Joshi, India’s parliamentary affairs minister. “Now members can use electronic devices to participate in House proceedings. This initiative encourages paperless operations and reflects government's commitment towards Ashta Lakshmi."

• India