210 Jammu Kashmir Government Websites Active, 206 Audited, Upgraded

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir now has over 210 active government websites and online applications accessible to the public, with 206 of them audited and upgraded for enhanced security in the past three months, officials revealed during a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Monday.

The meeting, held at the Civil Secretariat, was convened to assess the functioning of the Information Technology (IT) Department and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Jammu and Kashmir. It was attended by Secretary, IT, Dr Piyush Singla; CEO, JaKeGA, Mahima Madan; State Informatics Officer, NIC, JS Modi; and other senior officers.

At the outset, the Chief Secretary underscored the critical importance of cyber security and directed that robust systems be established from the tehsil to the block level. He called for the seamless expansion of the e-Office network beyond district offices to ensure digital efficiency and transparency across all administrative tiers.

Dulloo also directed the Department to submit a detailed status report of offices still outside the e-Office network and to expedite the upgradation of the State Data Centre (SDC). He stressed the need to operationalise a Mini Security Operations Centre (SoC) and establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Information Technology to nurture future-ready talent.

He further advised the formulation of a proposal for a futuristic IT Park in the Union Territory to create high-end employment avenues for trained youth in advanced technology domains.

During the meeting, Dr Piyush Singla informed that the number of active websites audited by Third-Party Auditors (TPA) had increased from 110 to 206 in just three months. The SDC, he said, was in the process of securing ISO 27001 and ISO 20001 certifications, which would align J&K’s digital infrastructure with global standards of information security and service management.

CEO, JaKeGA, Mahima Madan, briefed that a CERT-IN empanelled TPA had completed audits of departmental websites hosted in J&K and that migration to IPv6 was underway to ensure greater security, scalability, and performance.

She added that under e-Office 2.0, 4,056 offices and 21,774 users have been onboarded, extending digital operations to tehsil and block levels. The State Wide Area Network (SWAN) has been expanded to all districts and 167 blocks, ensuring stable connectivity.

Providing data on citizen-facing services, she said that 127 government services, including 15 newly added ones, have been integrated with DigiLocker, making 8.06 crore records digitally accessible. The platform currently hosts 30.4 lakh registered users in Jammu and Kashmir.

She also outlined key projects under implementation, such as digitisation of government records, software solutions for multiple departments, Digital Village Centres in 44 panchayats with video-conferencing facilities, and Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems. Upcoming initiatives include disaster recovery setups, digital signage solutions, and capacity-building programmes.

NIC’s State Informatics Officer, JS Modi, said the Centre continues to provide core technological support and consultancy to the Jammu and Kashmir government, covering system design, network management, cyber security, and hosting services. NIC also maintains platforms like the Shri Amarnathji Yatra services, Pension Suvidha Portal, BoPEE services, and Service Plus (JanSugam), with future plans for the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), Next Gene Hospital, and online sanctioning of social welfare applications.

Earlier, the Chief Secretary launched the E-SAM (Electronic System of Asset Management) Portal, a new digital platform designed for lifecycle management of government assets. The system enables workflow-based operations, vendor integration, inventory control, disposal tracking, and compliance monitoring to enhance governance and accountability.