Visakhapatnam – The 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) concluded in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday with the adoption of the “Visakhapatnam Declaration,” outlining strategies to expand digital governance across the country, the organisers said.
The two-day event was co-hosted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
At the valedictory session, V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG, said the conference had wide participation from 18 ministries, states and union territories. He congratulated the winners of the National e-Governance Awards 2025 and launched the official website for the 2026 awards.
Srinivas highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s governance initiatives, including real-time monitoring and WhatsApp-based service delivery, which he described as models that could be replicated nationally. He also expressed appreciation for officers and partner institutions who had contributed to organising the event over the past year.
The conference focused on the theme “Viksit Bharat: Civil Service and Digital Transformation” and reaffirmed the national vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047” and the principle of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.”
Delegates called for the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, geospatial information systems, the Internet of Things and data analytics to support transparent, citizen-focused governance. Cybersecurity, digital trust and resilience in critical infrastructure were highlighted as national priorities.
The Visakhapatnam Declaration calls for strengthening civil services with digital competencies and scaling up AI-driven platforms such as Digital India, BHASHINI, Digi Yatra and NADRES V2 to provide multilingual and real-time citizen services.
Delegates recommended replicating successful projects including SAMPADA 2.0 in Madhya Pradesh, eKhata in Bengaluru, Rohini Gram Panchayat in Maharashtra, and the Drone Analytics Monitoring System by the National Highways Authority of India.
The declaration also emphasised extending digital services to regions with connectivity challenges, including the North-East and Ladakh.
At the local level, Panchayat models from Rohini, West Majlishpur, Suakati and Palsana are planned to be expanded nationally. Digital literacy programmes for women, youth and marginalised communities were also highlighted as priorities.
Measures such as Zero-Trust architecture, post-quantum security and AI-based monitoring systems were identified as essential for cyber resilience across sectors including transport, defence and citizen services.
The declaration committed to accelerating the rollout of the National Agri Stack to improve farmers’ access to credit, advisory services and markets, while promoting climate-smart and sustainable farming practices.
The conference also pledged closer collaboration between government, industry, academia, start-ups and civil society to co-create scalable digital solutions. Andhra Pradesh’s plan to position Visakhapatnam as an IT and innovation hub, including development of special IT zones and support for industry-academia partnerships, was endorsed in the declaration.
Other participants at the closing session included Sarita Chauhan, Joint Secretary of DARPG, who read out the declaration, S.N. Tripathi, Director General of the Indian Institute of Public Administration and K. Bhaskar, Secretary of IT, E&C, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
